A Storm Within
by IsidoraAngst
Summary: The anniversary to a tragic event in the Miz's life is coming up. His teammates are on edge dealing with that and the increasing supernatural occurrences in the city. What is the Miz and the other Hunters going to do?  AU/Slash  mostly m/m
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I love the supernatural, especially vampires. I had this story brewing in my head for awhile so I hope y'all enjoy. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything dealing with WWE or any song lyrics that is used as a muse.**

**Warning: There is harsh language and adult themes as well as Slash between some of the characters (mostly M/M).**

**Chapter One**

Music ripped through the man's ears as he sat with his guitar case beside him on the nearly emptied bus. He ran his hand through his blond fauxhawk as he stared at the three others in front of him with his icy blue eyes.

**Another mission, the powers have called me away**

**Another time to carry the colors again**

**My motivation, an oath I've sworn to defend**

**To win the honor of coming back home again**

He closed his eyes for a brief second and opened them again to observe the people. A young woman, who appeared to be around sixteen, talked on her phone, a homeless man slouched in the middle talking to himself, and a male wearing a collared red shirt dozed on and off. The man nodded to himself.

**I'll have you know**

**That I've become**

**Indestructible**

**Determination that is incorruptible**

**From the other side, a terror to behold**

**Annihilation will be unavoidable**

The bus came to a halt in front of a damaged bus stop. The bench had been broken into pieces and the plastic barrier that protected the people from the weather was long gone. The man pulled up the hood to his black hoodie, grabbed his guitar case, and got up. He made his way to the front and saw an old lady enter. He stepped aside for her to pass.

"Hey?" the driver called.

The man stopped and pulled his ear-buds out to hear him.

"You sure you want to get out here, buddy?" the driver asked.

The man looked at him. The driver was an older black man about sixty. His eyes held genuine concern. The blond read over the driver's name.

"This is a bad part of town...hell, it's just the worst," the driver said.

"Thanks for the warning, Mr. Jabari," the man replied.

"Just Jabari."

The man nodded. "I can handle myself." With that the man stepped off of the bus and headed down the street.

The driver shook his head and was about to close the doors when a sudden rush passed him. He looked behind him and noted three people still on the bus. He got up and looked outside and just saw the man's back slowly disappearing into the night. Jabari shook his head and decided to continue his route.

The man walked on not bothering to replace his ear-buds. He kept his icy blues focused on what was before him. All the buildings have been abandoned long ago. They were boarded up and decorated with graffiti. A few lamp lights still worked, but even that would not keep fear from creeping into one's mind. This man kept walking with no hints of fear on his face nor any other emotion to be exact.

The blond stopped and tilted his head to his left before turning around to quickly scan the area. After not seeing anything, he continued on and stopped again. A figure stepped out from an alleyway. The man gripped the handle of his guitar case tightly.

The figure slowly walked towards him and stopped under a light. It was the sixteen-year-old girl that was on the bus with him. She looked him over as she licked her lips. "You look delicious."

"Pardon?" he asked.

"She said 'you look delicious'," a man replied as he came up beside her, brushing his black hair behind his ears.

The blond nodded as he looked them both over. "Listen, I don't want any trouble..."

"Oh, there won't be any trouble...if you just play along," the man replied flashing fangs.

The sixteen-year-old laughed and flashed her fangs as well.

The blond man nodded and began to close the gap between them. He got within ten feet of the vampires and placed the case down. He popped the lid and looked inside.

"What? Are you going to play for us?" the girl asked.

The man smiled. "No, but you will scream for me."

The man and girl looked at each other. The man gripped his chest and looked down. A wooden stake protruded where his dead heart was caged. He worked his mouth into a silent scream as he burst into flames. The girl stepped back from him screaming as she watched the fire consume him and then die down leaving nothing but ash to float into the air.

The man wrapped his arm around the girl's neck to hold her in place. "I told you you would be screaming for me."

A stake came through her chest and he pushed her away. He watched as the flames of death surrounded her and her ashes drifted away.

He cracked his neck. "Fuck, that felt good."

The man went back to his case and ran his fingers over the crossbow that lay in its velvet home with the bolts glinting in the moonlight. He took note of the lone stake in the lid. He had forgotten to replenish from his last bout. He sighed and reasoned that he might as well get some metal stakes. At least, they would survive the flames that erupted from a dying vampire. He hated to admit it, but his friend was right and the blond will never tell him.

His cell vibrated in his pocket and he reached for it. The man sighed and answered, "Yes, Kane?"

"Mizanin, where are you?" the deep voice growled.

Mike knew that he was in slight trouble for not reporting in for the last five days. "I'm on my way in when I had to take care of some...vamps."

A grunt came before, "Get your ass home. Undertaker has an assignment for you. You better be glad that you answered your phone...or I would be on a warpath to drag your ass back."

"Yes, sir." Mike closed his phone as well as the guitar case. He stood and continued his way home.

…

Mike sat in a dim office staring at the larger man in front of him who sat behind a desk. The man's long black hair covered his face as he leaned over writing something. Another large man stood to Taker's right. He was bald and had bi-colored eyes.

"Undertaker..." Mike began.

Taker raised his hand and Mike closed his mouth. Taker went back to writing. Kane shifted his weight during the silence that fell in the room. His eyes were on Mike and Mike's eyes were on the floor. The blond slowly breathed preparing himself for the punishment that would he knew he would get. Soon, the pen stopped and Taker leaned into his large leather chair. He closed his eyes and clasped his hands before him. Kane stared at his half-brother and knew he was not very happy at the moment. Mike shifted in his seat and just wanted the punishment to come.

"You, out of all of my children, know the protocols that I have set forth for our group," Taker said; his deep voice was very calm. "You are smart enough to know the dangers that you place yourself in every time you step out the sanctity of our home. You have the most potential in succeeding and leading this group of ours when I die." Taker opened his eyes and stared at Mike. "We are the Hunters. We are the people that take care of the things that go bump in the night. We are the people that take care of the things that ordinary people refuse or can't see."

Taker leaned forward onto his elbows. His eyes coasted over the large desk calender and stayed on a date that was a few days away. He sighed. "I'm not going to yell at you. I'm not going to punish you this time."

Kane's and Mike's eyes grew wide.

"I going to let you slide on this one, but so help you if you fail to report in after an mission, I will hunt you down and kill you. Do we have an understanding?" Taker asked.

Mike nodded.

"Good," Taker said. "I have an assignment for you."

Mike nodded.

"The Society sent one of their younglings here to watch us and to learn. I want him to shadow you," Taker said.

Mike sighed.

"His name is Alex Riley and he's waiting outside," Taker said. "Introduce yourself and get some sleep."

Mike nodded and stood.

"Oh, don't forget to go to the Big Show to get yourself more weapons," Taker said.

Mike chuckled and smiled. "Yes, sir."

With that, Mike walked outside and stared at the young man sitting in a chair. He had blond hair similar to Mike's but with the sides shaved short. His blue eyes were darker than Mike's as well. He was dressed in jeans and a blue and yellow Letterman's jacket. His black boots were polished and held a high shine.

"Alex?" Mike asked.

The man looked up at him and smiled. He stood and strode over to him with his right hand held out.

"I'm Michael...Michael Mizanin. You can call me Miz," Mike said as he shook Alex's hand.

"I've heard of you," Alex said, his eyes sparkled with excitement and amazement.

Mike nodded. "I guess introductions are done. Tell me, what do you know of us?"

"The Hunters? I know that you take care of supernatural problems from vampires to werewolves to ghosts and everything else. Your success rate is 93%. Far better than most groups like this one."

"Wow. Really?"

Alex nodded. "I know more about you than anyone else here."

"Really?"

Alex nodded again.

Mike's eyes grew wide for a brief moment. "Flattered. Did Taker assign you a room?"

"Yes, right across from yours."

Mike nodded and began walking with Alex behind. No words passed between them. When Mike got to his room, he turned to Alex.

"Listen, I need to get some sleep, so I'll introduce you to the others in the morning," Mike replied.

Alex nodded.

Mike's door slowly opened and a man with dark hair and green eyes stood in the doorway. He had both ears pierced and a lip ring. He gave an mischievous smile and moved with a quickness that Alex nor Mike could not react. The man sunk fangs into the side of Mike's neck and slowly pulled him into his room. Alex pulled out stake from his jacket and slowly followed. Mike's eyes fluttered as the ecstasy filled his body. He could feel his member harden and his toes curl within his boots. Mike licked his lips as he brought his left hand up to rub the back of the man's head. His breath quickened and he moaned as his body shuddered.

The man pulled Mike to his bed and held him until he went limp in his arms. The man licked the wounds shut. He laid the sleeping Mike down and smiled be looking up at Alex.

"Put that away," the man said.

"No," Alex said.

"Don't worry about me, I'm not going to kill him," the man stated. "Randy would have my head. I'm CM Punk, resident Dampyr."

Alex was taken aback. "What?"

"Half-human, half-vampire," Punk replied. He proceeded to take Mike's boots off.

"There's no such thing," Alex replied.

"We exist. We're rare, but we exist." Punk pulled Mike's hoodie's zipper down and got him out of it. "Stop standing there and help me."

Alex placed the stake back into his jacket and helped Punk undress Mike but never taking his eyes off the Dampyr. When Mike was in his boxers, Punk straightened him out and pulled the covers over him.

"There," Punk said proudly. "Thank you."

"What did you do to him?" Alex asked.

"I drank some of his blood."

"Were you hungry?"

Punk shook his head. "We Dampyrs have no need to drink blood, but we can. I did it because I wanted to...and it puts him to sleep."

Alex slowly nodded his head.

"You must be the new guy," Punk replied. "Again, I'm CM Punk. You can call me Punk."

"Alex...Alex Riley."

"Cool." Punk made his way out of Mike's room. "Let him sleep. He needs it."

Alex looked to Mike and back to Punk who winked at him before disappearing down the hallway. Alex closed Mike's door but not before staring into the older man's angelic face. Alex cracked a small smile as he lay in his own bed. _This is going to get interesting._


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything dealing with WWE or any song lyrics that is used as a muse.**

**Warning: There is harsh language and adult themes as well as Slash between some of the characters (mostly M/M).**

**Chapter Two**

Undertaker stood on his balcony staring out onto the night. A cemetery was below and covered much of the backyard. It was still except for an occasional cat or rodent that wandered about. Undertaker placed his hands on the railing and leaned forward. His mind was plagued with the coming date...the anniversary of a tragic event...the event that brought Mike to him, the event that caused Kane and him to start "The Hunters," a group of men and women who lived with the supernatural or were touched by them in some way. He closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. He was worried about Mike and what he might do, he was worried about the other lost children in the group and their reactions, he was worried about the Society and their youngling shadowing them...hell, he was just worried.

Kane stared at his brother's back, not saying a word. He learned not to make a sound when his brother was deep in thought. He knew what was running through his brother's mind for the same thoughts ran through his as well, but Kane had one more thing: the gathering of the vampires. It happened every six months and on that night, the body count would rise. This time, the gathering will be on the anniversary.

Sensing his brother, Undertaker asked, "Have you heard from Vickie?"

"Not yet," Kane replied.

Taker nodded. Something caught his eye in the cemetery and he stared at it. A hand came out of a grave followed by another one. They flailed around a bit before grabbing the ground.

"Looks like we might have a walker," Taker said.

Kane nodded. He took a couple of steps before leaping over the railing.

Taker sighed and made his way to his desk. He sat down and stared at the date.

"Only seven days away," a female voice said.

"Yes, Vickie only seven," Taker replied.

Vickie came into view out of the shadows in his office. Her brunette hair was short and she wore a brown dress suit with heels. She sat down in one of the chairs before the desk.

"What are you going to do about it?" Vickie asked.

"Wait and see," Taker replied. "We don't exactly know what he might do." He stared at her for a moment. "Do you have a fortune for me?"

She smiled. "I always have fortunes...good or bad. Did you know that the gathering will be on the anniversary?"

Taker pressed his lips into a thin line.

She nodded. "A storm is brewing. Someone is messing with the Leylines. It is my belief that they might be trying to open a Hell's Gate."

"I did not want to hear that," a voice hissed. A man slithered his way over the railing of the balcony and walked towards the desk. He stared at them with blue eyes that held a killer instinct that made mere humans shrink away in fear. His bare arms showed his sleeved tattoos.

The man placed a bag on the desk and stared at Taker, who looked at the bag. Taker opened it to reveal a head. It was fully scaled in green and blue with horns that ran down the center of the head like a Mohawk. Its ears were pointed. Both top and bottom teeth were jagged fangs, good for secondary weapons and ripping flesh apart.

Taker opened one of its eyes to see blackness staring back at him. Vickie just shook her head.

"Where did you find it?" Taker asked.

"In the sewers," the man replied. "There's a nest down there."

"How many?"

"Three...possibly five."

"I'll go and get some spells and potions ready," Vickie replied as she stood up. "I'll get Alicia and Yoshi to help me." She left the men to talk.

"To be honest, I set their numbers around ten," the man replied. "I didn't want the woman to worry."

Taker nodded. "Who do you need?"

"The Hardy boys."

"They're still in Canada. What about Jack?"

The man thought a moment. "This would be his first demon hunt."

"Gotta learn somehow." Taker studied the young man. His muscles flexed, his eyes were fixed and seemed to be focused on an invisible enemy, and his fists clenched and released over and over again. "Randy," Taker called.

He moved his eyes to his boss.

"Get some rest. We'll plan everything out in the morning hopefully."

He nodded.

"Oh, Mike's home."

Randy stared at Taker and left the room.

Kane walked passed Randy. He stared after the young man before going to the office. "Taken care off."

"Who was it?" Taker asked.

"A new arrival from yesterday. They seem to be popping up more and more lately."

"I know, I know." Taker folded his hands before him and let his mind run.

Randy stood outside Mike's room staring at the door. The wooden barrier was as strong as it was weak. He placed his forehead against the cool surface.

_"Poor baby," a voice purred._

_ "Always running to Daddy."_

"Shut up!" he growled through clenched teeth.

_"Demon child..."_

_ "So weak...so pathetic."_

Randy squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block out the voices. Punk watched from a distance as he brushed his thumb over his lips.

_"You can't take care of a nest by yourself."_

_ "You go crying to Daddy for help."_

_ "Daddy, Daddy, help me."_

Randy clenched and relaxed his fists over and over again.

"Randy," Punk softly called.

He turned to the voice quickly, eyes glinting with the intentions of killing.

"You okay?"

He nodded after recognizing the Hunter member.

Punk cautiously made his way toward the young man. "How was your mission?"

"It went well."

Punk nodded. "What happened?"

"There's a nest of demons in the sewers."

_"Weakling."_

"What are you going to do?" Punk asked.

"It's more than I can handle," Randy replied. "Taker and I will come up with a plan in the morning."

_"Oh...you are so pitiful."_

_ "No wonder no one wants you."_

"Do you need anything?" Punk asked.

Randy shook his head.

"Okay. Mike's asleep." Punk smiled and flashed his small fangs.

Randy stared at him as a darkness took over his eyes for a brief moment.

Punk stared back and knew that he should not have done that. However, Punk did not care. He knew that Mike needed to have a good night's rest. This whole week will be harder on him than anyone else.

"Do you want to get something to eat?" Punk offered.

"No, I just want to sleep," Randy said as he turned away and walked down the hall to his room.

Punk shrugged his shoulder and went to the kitchen.

Randy stopped at his door.

_"Well now. Looks like he doesn't want you as well."_

_ "Humans."_

_ "So fickle...and easy to kill as well."_

Randy buried his face in his hands.

_"What are you going to do?"_

_ "Cry?"_

Randy turned and walked back to Mike's door. He slowly opened it and entered.

_"Looks like Devil Boy is growing some balls."_

He stared at Mike while he slept. He took a step closer and stopped. He shook his head and backed up. He felt the wooden door against his back and he slid down to sit on the floor.

_"I take that back."_

Randy sat for thirty minutes watching Mike sleep while the voices in his head talked and degraded him. He did not care at that moment. He felt at ease just being in the room. Mike turned onto his stomach; the blanket and sheets fell away slightly to reveal his semi-nude body. Randy smiled at this. He stood and made his way to Mike. When he got within five feet, the voices ceased. He touched his heart and felt relief for the first time in a long time. He covered Mike once more. He sat beside the bed, head on the edge to stare at Mike's face. After awhile, he was lulled to sleep.

Soon, the morning rays seeped through the closed shades. Mike had been awake for a few minutes staring at the back of Randy's head with a smile playing on his lips. He fought the urge to reach out to him and rub the back of his friend's neck, but after awhile, he bit his lip and did so anyways.

A soft moan fell from Randy's lips. He began to stir.

"Randy?" Mike cooed.

Randy cracked his neck before looking to Mike.

"Why didn't you just sleep in my bed?" he asked. "You know that I don't mind."

"I didn't want to wake you," Randy replied.

Mike nodded. "Get in here, idiot."

Randy gave him a sheepish smile as he slowly climbed up to sit on the edge of the bed. He massaged his lower back.

"That's what you get," Mike said as he sat up. He scooted closer to Randy and gave him a massage.

He gave a growl of pleasure which caused Mike to smile. He leaned closer and rubbed his nose against the back of Randy's neck. He could smell the sweat, dirt, and a little of the sewer. He cringed his nose a bit.

A knock came and they both looked to the door.

"Miz, are you up?" Alex asked.

Randy turned to Mike.

"Yeah, let me take a shower and introduce you to everyone," Mike replied staring into Randy's eyes.

"Kay, I'll be in the kitchen."

"Society brat," Mike whispered before climbing out of his bed.

"Babysitting now?" Randy joked.

"Looks like." He kissed Randy on the forehead. "Sleep."

Randy took off his boots, laid down, and watched Mike stroll to the bathroom. The sounds of the shower made Randy drowsy. He fell fast asleep when the smell of soap crept through the room. After awhile, a dried and naked Mike came out of the bathroom. He leaned against the door-frame staring at Randy. He smiled as he went to retrieve something to wear. He did not care about dressing up today. He just slapped on some jeans and a black T-shirt. He pulled on some socks and boots. He took one last look at Randy before going downstairs to the kitchen.

Alex sat at the large breakfast table that could easily fit ten people or more. He looked over the impressive kitchen while he waited. There was a walk-in freezer and pantry, three refrigerators, two ovens, four stoves, cabinets full of spices, dinnerware, and pots and pans, drawers containing utensils needed for either cooking or eating, two large sinks, and two dishwashers.

Mike walked in and made his way over to a cabinet.

"Morning," Alex greeted.

"Morning. Would you like some coffee?" Mike asked.

"Sure. I would have made some if I knew you drank coffee."

"Don't worry about it."

Mike got what he needed and leaned against a counter next to one of the stoves. A man with long dirty blond hair that was in a ponytail walked in and stared at Mike. Alex spotted him and waved at him. The man quickly walked away.

"Odd," Alex said.

"What?" Mike asked as he measured out the coffee grinds.

"Some man just walked in and then out. He had his hair in a ponytail. Looked to be in his mid-twenties."

"What color hair?"

"Um...dirty blond."

Mike looked up and thought a moment. "Oh, that's Drew."

Drew made his way upstairs like a man on a mission. He passed Mike's door and came back to it. He opened it and stared at the sleeping Randy.

"Randy?" Drew called. A Scottish accent coated the name. "Randal?"

Randy quickly sat up and looked around. "What?" He began to rub his eyes.

"You're boyfriend's trying to cook breakfast."

Randy stared at him. He quickly climbed out of the bed and ran towards the kitchen with Drew right behind. Mike had just pushed the coffee maker on when Randy appeared at the door.

"What the fuck are you doing? Step away from the fucking stove," Randy ordered.

Mike slowly turned his head to Randy. "I'm making coffee."

Relief washed over Randy's face as well as Drew's. The Scotsman made his way to the table where Alex was sitting. He stared at him and tilted his head.

"Good," Randy said. "Don't want to have another fiasco like last time."

"I was just making popcorn," Mike said.

"We had to get a new microwave," Randy said.

"Mike, you burn water," Drew stated.

"Like anyone hasn't done that before," Mike replied.

"You burned down half the kitchen," Drew reminded the older man.

Mike pouted. "Leave me alone." He went and took a seat next to Alex.

"Do any of you want breakfast?" Randy asked.

"That would be good," Alex said as he stood up. "Do you need any help?"

"Sure," Randy said while going to gather breakfast items.

Alex made his way towards him.

"You cook?" Mike asked.

Alex nodded. As he passed Drew, the Scotsman wrapped his arms around Alex and hugged him. Alex stopped and blushed. Another man entered the kitchen and stared at Drew hugging Alex. He pushed up his shades on top of his head gathering some of his dark hair to stay in place. He only wore blue jeans that were well worn and boots. A chain necklace hung around his neck.

"He can cook," Mike replied.

With that the dark haired man made his way over and hugged Alex as well, who turned a deeper red. Punk entered and stopped short. He looked to Mike and then to Randy.

"He can cook," Randy said.

Punk nodded, backed out of the kitchen, and walked away.

After some time of cooking, the table was set with scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, pancakes, and biscuits. Mugs were filled with coffee and glasses with OJ or milk. The men ate and talked, laughed and joked.

"Sorry about that," John said as Drew nodded.

Alex waved them off.

"Not many here know how to cook," John said staring at Mike, who stuck his tongue out at him.

"My grandmother taught me," Alex explained.

The others nodded as Punk came in and sat down. He poured himself some OJ.

"Not eating?" Alex asked.

Punk shook his head.

"Oh," Mike said. "Alex, John and Drew are our experts on ghosts. They both can see them, but only Drew can communicate with them. This is Randy," Mike squeezed Randy's shoulder. "If you want to know anything about demons and devils, you go to him. Punk is our resident Dampyr. He goes after his own kind."

"I don't view them as my own kind really," Punk replied. "Most vampires are evil...very few are benevolent."

"There's me. I'm the most versatile of the group," Mike said.

"I know," Alex replied. "The Society talks about you a lot."

The men stared at him.

Mike nodded. "There are others here. Some on missions, others taking a break or studying. You've met the bosses, Undertaker and Kane. There's Vickie, Alicia, and Yoshi. They are our magic users and they take care of other magic users and psychics. Yoshi doesn't go out much. He would rather keep the library. The Hardy brothers...they're off in Canada chasing down werewolves. As for the other vampire hunters beside Punk are Jack Swagger, Chris Jericho, and Edge. Big Show or Show is our weapons guy. If you need anything...and I mean anything, he'll have it. If not, he'll get it for you."

Alex nodded as a Japanese man entered. There was a streak of blond among a sea of black. He made himself a plate and he looked to Mike.

"Are you going out?" he asked.

"Sure, I guess," Mike replied. "Whatcha need, Yoshi?"

"Could you go to the Witches Brew and pick up a shipment for me?"

"Okay."

"You might want to take the truck."

"Really?"

Yoshi nodded.

"Really?"

"I ordered a lot of stuff."

Mike sighed. "Fine."

Yoshi turned to walk away but stopped. "Oh, they have a new chick working for them. She makes this delicious cookie called 'Chunky Funky Monkey Peanut Butter Cookie'. Could you pick up some for me?"

"Chunky," Randy began.

"Funky?" John questioned.

"Monkey," Drew said.

"Peanut Butter Cookie," Punk finished.

Yoshi nodded. "Vickie's driving us crazy. Something about a nest of demons in the sewers and needing potions and spells. That's why I need you to get the shipment...and Cody has been complaining about not seeing you."

Mike moves his eyes to Randy's.

{"We need to talk,"} Mike thought.

{"Yeah,"} Randy answered. {"Later."}

{"Fine.}

Mike broke the stare first.

"There must be a whole lot of them to be needing that much potions and spells," Drew said. "Oh, well."

…

Mike pulled the truck into a parking spot and Alex and he stepped out.

"The Witches Brew is not only an Occult shop, but they have coffee, teas, smoothies, and baked goods," Mike explained. "It's run by Cody and Ted...best friends."

Alex only nodded.

They entered the shop and looked around. The front area was set up like a cafe with chairs and tables to sit and relax. A railing separated the cafe from the rest of the store. There were bookshelves upon bookshelves of books dealing with the Occult. One wall was covered in items to perform rituals and spells like different kinds of herbs or certain candles. Another wall had charms from all over the world. The back wall had a built in bookshelf with more books.

Alex followed Mike to the counter and watched as the older man lean over to see if any one was in the back.

A young man came out tying a red apron on. He looked at Mike and smiled, flashing perfect teeth. "Mizzy!"

"Cody!" Mike greeted.

The man came from behind the cashwrap and hugged Mike. He lifted the older man off the ground briefly.

"You've gotten stronger," Mike said.

The young man just smiled. He cupped Mike's face in his hands and gave him a kiss on the forehead.

Alex blushed.

"It's been forever," Cody said while walking back behind the counter.

"I know. Sorry. Anyways, Yoshi had an order," Mike replied. "Oh, Alex...Cody...Cody, Alex."

"Oh, that!" Cody laughed. "Hi, Alex."

Alex waved.

"It's just the two of you?" Cody asked.

Mike folded his arms over his chest. "How much did he order?"

"Do you have the truck or van?"

"Truck," Mike answered.

"You should have brought the van. There's about fifty boxes: thirty boxes of books, ten full of herbs, four of candles, and the last six of potions."

"I'm going to kill him," Mike muttered under his breath.

Alex chuckled and said. "He also wants some cookie...Funky...Monkey...Cookie."

"That's 'Chunky Funky Monkey Peanut Butter Cookie'," Cody said. "It's our bestseller at the moment. I'll put an order on The Hunters' tab." He began to write the order down. "How much would he like?"

"Just give him a dozen," Mike replied.

Cody nodded and did some calculations.

A young black woman came out of the back and began to restock the pastry case. She stood about 5'4", seemed to be about 150lbs, and broad shouldered that fit her. She dressed in all black with a red apron like Cody's.

"Oh, guys, this is Falend MacKane," Cody introduced.

She looked at them and Mike's breath hitched. She had violet eyes and long black hair with streaks of white that was kept in a ponytail. A storm seemed to flash behind her eyes causing Mike's heart to flutter. Alex worked his jaw back and forth as he stared at her. She was not gorgeous nor beautiful. She was cute.

Cody looked at the men. His eyes moved from one face to the other. He stared at Falend and shrugged his shoulders. She pressed her lips together and went back to work.

The two men snapped out of their trance.

"Hi, I'm Mike," Mike said.

"I'm-I'm Alex," Alex said.

"Right," Falend replied; her voice was deep and a bit gruff. She walked to the back.

"Smooth, guys, smooth," Cody said with a chuckle.

"Whatever," both Alex and Mike said.

"Where's the shipment?" Mike asked.

"Bring the truck around back," Cody replied.

Mike nodded and left with Alex. They pulled to the back where Falend waited for them with the back door open. She led them to the boxes.

"Really?" Mike asked looking at them.

"Really," she replied.

"FUCK!"

Alex muffled a laugh.

Mike shook his head before he and Alex loaded up the truck. Falend helped by handing them the boxes.

"You really don't have to help," Mike said. "Some of these boxes are heavy."

She just stared at him but continued to hand them the boxes. When the truck was packed to its fullest, Mike and Alex climbed into the cab.

"We'll be back as soon as possible," Mike told Falend.

She nodded and handed him a bag. "That's for Yoshi."

He took it and gave her a crooked smile. She went back inside.

"Not very talkative now is she?" Alex asked.

Mike agreed. He adjusted the side mirror and stopped. He leaned his head out and scanned the area.

"What?" Alex asked.

"Hey, take the shipment back. I need to do something," Mike said as he slid out of the truck.

"What do you need to do?" Alex asked.

"Don't worry about it," Mike said as he walked away.

Alex shook his head and climbed into the driver's seat. He watched Mike for another minute. He shook his head again and drove off.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything dealing with WWE or any song lyrics that is used as a muse.**

**Warning: There is harsh language and adult themes as well as Slash between some of the characters (mostly M/M).**

**Chapter Three**

Mike made his way into the sewers, jumping down when he got to the last rung off the metal ladder. He was glad that he remembered to place a small flashlight into his pocket. He was not so glad that he forgot to arm himself. He had to know what he saw as for real or if his mind was just tricks on him. He knew that there was a nest in the sewers but to have one so close to his friend's shop caused him to worry.

Mike scanned the area before deciding to go right. The smell of foul water and shit stung his nose causing him to gag. He bent over trying to catch his breath before moving on slowly. Since he did not have a weapon, he had to be very careful. The slow search proved nothing and he felt a little at ease. He knew that Randy would be upset with him if he told Alex the truth, but he wanted to do this by himself. He wanted to know for sure.

After about an hour of searching and coming up with nothing, he decided to go back to meet up with Alex and finish getting the shipment. He turned a corner and stopped short. He went back behind the corner and had to slow his breathing. He looked around the corner once more. There looked to be a large bird's nest with bodies entangled in the branches and twigs. He turned back around and wiped his mouth. He knew that he stumbled upon a nest. He did not know how many they were nor if this was the same nest that Randy was after. He just knew that he needed to get help. He slowly made his way back to the entrance.

Meanwhile, Alex unloaded the last box and climbed back into the driver's seat as Yoshi came up to the window.

"Thanks, man," Yoshi said.

"No problem," Alex replied. "Oh, here." He handed the Japanese man the bag full of cookies.

"Thanks!" Yoshi did a little dance and walked away.

Randy came over. "Where did you say Mike went off to?"

Alex shrugged his shoulders. "He just said that he had to go do something. He didn't say anything after that."

Randy crossed his arms over his chest.

_"Liar!"_

"Okay," Randy breathed. He rubbed the back of his head. "Listen, you're new here. This week is going to be rough. You need to stay on Mike's ass like a love sick puppy. Don't let him stray. When I tell you, you can back off but not before."

"Okay...what's going on?" Alex asked.

_"Questions, questions."_

_ "He's very annoying."_

"Don't worry about it."

Alex knitted his eyebrows into confusion. "How can I keep watch over him if I don't know what's going on?"

_"That's our business...not yours newbie."_

_ "I hate his face."_

"Listen, Sunshine, don't question me. Just do it!"

Alex stared into Randy's cold murderous eyes. He gulped and nodded.

"Get going," Randy said, "and find him...quickly."

Alex drove off.

Punk came up behind Randy and watched the truck speed off. "Did you really have to scare him like that?"

Randy slowly turned his head to the Dampyr.

"He's from the Society," Punk reminded him.

Randy grunted.

"We can't have him reporting anything negative about us. They might cut us off or worse...disband us."

Randy licked his lips.

"What's going to happen to us if that happens or worse, what would happen to Mike? He needs this group more than any of us and you know that." Punk stared in the direction where the truck went off to.

"Leave me alone," Randy growled.

_"Or he'll kill you."_

_ "You should you know...kill him."_

_ "He's always been after Mike."_

"Whatever," Punk mumbled. "Chocolate?" He held up a candy bar.

Randy took it and opened the package.

"So, where did Mike go?" Punk wondered.

Mike was slowly making his way back to the entrance. As he came around the last corner to where the entrance was, he quickly pressed himself against the wall. Three creatures entered. From what he saw, they were scaled in green and had a horn Mohawk. Mike wiped his mouth and looked around quickly. He could hear them coming towards him. He slipped away and squeezed himself into a crevice. He held his breathe as the three walked by. After a minute, he exhaled and breathed a bit easier. One came back and growled at him.

Mike looked at the demon. "Shit!"

…

Alex coasted to a stop in front of the boxes that waited for him. Falend began to load up the truck.

"Well, thanks," Alex said he got out.

"Welcome," she said.

"Hey, stop. Those are heavy."

She stared at him. He shrugged his shoulders and helped her. Cody came out and watched.

"Where's Mike?" Cody asked.

"I don't know," Alex replied. "I'm going to load up the truck and go look for him."

Cody nodded. "What if you don't find him?"

"I'm not going back without him," Alex replied.

"Did Randy threaten you?" Cody asked.

"More or less."

Cody nodded again. "That's just like him."

"What's up with him?"

"Mike recruited Randy into the group about a month after Undertaker and Kane started it. So, in away, Randy sees Mike as a younger brother."

Alex nodded as he placed a box onto the truck.

"Do you two need anything?" Cody asked.

Alex shook his head. "Thanks."

"No, thank you," Falend said.

Cody nodded.

"Who's running the shop?" Alex asked.

"Teddy just came in. I need to go and run some errands."

"Cool, good luck with that."

"Thanks. I need to say good-bye to Teddy." Cody went back inside.

Alex and Falend finished packing up the bed.

"How many more boxes?" Alex asked.

"Five more," Falend replied. "You can fit them into the cab."

Alex did so. "Thanks, I'm going to go and look for him."

Falend watched as he walked off. She scanned the area and her eyes fell on a slightly opened manhole cover. She crossed her arms over her chest and went back inside.

Alex walked up and down the streets for two hour but to no avail. He ran his hand through his hair trying to figure out what to do.

"Damnit!" he cursed and marched back to the cafe. He entered the store and looked around. Ted stood in front of the counter talking to Falend. They look up at him.

"Any luck?" Ted asked.

Alex shook his head as he took a seat. "Do you know any of his haunts?"

Ted shook his head. "Sorry."

"Damnit!" Alex buried his face into his hands. "Fuck. I can't go back without him."

"Randy?" Teddy asked.

Alex nodded his head.

"Listen, forget about Randy," Ted said. "Take the shipment back. If he shows up here, I'll drive him back."

"I can't do that. Randy..."

"Forget about him. If he shows up, I'll drive him back."

Alex stared into Ted's face. "You sure about this?"

"Not really, but you don't want to keep Yoshi waiting as well."

Alex stood up. "Thanks."

Ted nodded and went back to talking to Falend.

Alex made his way to the truck, climbed in, and drove away.

…

Mike hung from the ceiling; his blood dripping from wounds on his body. His eyes had adjusted to the darkness. He lifted his head up to look at his tied hands. His restraints were chains. If it was rope, it would be fine. If it was handcuffs, it would be fine. Chains...it was something that he had always had trouble with.

"Fuck," he muttered.

Mike smiled to himself. He was able to kill one of them. He shook the memory away and thought about how to get himself out of this situation. He grabbed the chains and lifted his body up. He could hear a door opening and he left his body fall again. He made out four individuals making their way to him. He could hear them talking but did not know what they were saying. Demon tongue was so hard to learn even though Randy tried his best to teach him. He silently cursed his lack of focus.

The young man could feel them surrounding him as they talking. He wished that he knew what they were saying, but a part of him did not want to know. For the first time in a long time, he felt something that had been long forgotten. His chest tightened as his heart rate increased. His mind raced with the different scenarios that could happen to him. He did not know if the wetness on his face was sweat or just his blood. He swallowed hard trying to push the fear way that was slowly taking over him.

He could hear one of them step closer to him. He felt a sharp pain rip through his chest and could hear the tearing of flesh. He closed his eyes and kicked the creature away. The other three grabbed his legs and tied them. They then anchored him to the ground so he could not flail about.

"Goddamn you!" he cursed.

Another took a bite out of his leg and ripped flesh away. The last two came and feasted as well. They only took a bite before leaving the room.

Mike blinked several times trying not to pass out, but in the end, darkness welcomed him.

…

Randy paced back and forth in his room.

_"He ran away."_

_ "From you."_

_ "He doesn't want to be with you any more."_

_ "You're so pathetic."_

Randy grabbed at his temples, trying to silence the voices.

_"Here's a thought...what if he's dead?"_

Randy's eyes went wide. The sound of the truck pulling up got his attention. He ran downstairs to see if Mike was with Alex. He stood at the door and watched as Drew and Yoshi unload the truck. Alex looked up at him and shook his head.

Randy growled lowly.

"Ted said that if he shows up, he will drive him back here," Alex replied.

With that, Randy stomped back inside. Alex looked to the other two men who merely shrugged their shoulders. He nodded and went to help them. Randy went to Mike's room and sat on his bed. He buried his head into his hands.

_"What will you do?"_

_ "Just give up."_

"Shut up!" Randy commanded. "Just shut up."

"You okay, dude?" John asked staring at him from the doorway.

Randy looked up at him.

John held up his hands in defense. "Chill, dude."

Randy sighed. "Sorry."

"It's fine. I know that you're worried but calm down. Really don't want you going around and killing everyone."

Randy chuckled.

"How...how are the voices?"

Randy stared at him.

"You don't have to answer if you don't want to."

He looked John over and said, "Have you thought about putting on a shirt?"

"Hell no. I must show off these fabulous abs to the world." John posed for him.

Randy started to laugh.

"See...even you enjoy my abs." John leaned against the frame. "Honestly, though..."

"They've gotten worse."

John nodded. He went and sat down beside Randy. "Have you told Taker or Kane?"

Randy shook his head.

"You know it's going to get worse this whole week until..."

"I can deal."

"You sure?"

Randy nodded.

"I really don't see you dealing...but I'll take your word for it." John looked around Mike's room. "Is it just me or is his room bigger than everyone else's?"

"It's bigger."

"Lucky bastard."

"He has his own bathroom too."

John nodded. "I knew there was a reason why I hated him."

Randy looked at him in disbelief.

"What?"

Randy shook his head.

"Just saying."

Randy rolled his eyes.

John rubbed Randy's neck with one hand. "What else is on your mind?"

"Mike. He's missing."

"Say what?"

"Well, he went off to do something."

John sighed. "Don't do that to me."

Randy turned to him. "I thought you hated him?"

"In a brotherly sort of kind of way." John rubbed his hands together.

"I know that this isn't the first time he went off by himself."

John nodded.

"It's just that...the anniversary..."

"I understand, but you shouldn't worry about Mike. He's done this before and came back unharmed. He's a big boy. He can take care of himself."

Randy gave John a weak smile. "I hope you're right."

_I hope so too,_ John thought as his mind wandered to what Mike could be doing.

Hours went by before Mike woke again. His arms had long went numb from the loss of blood flow to them and he could barely lift his head. He licked his chapped lips. He could hear movement from behind the door. He could see it open and watched eight enter. It was not long before they started to feast on him again. It was not long before the room became very hot and flames out of no where came. It was not long before he passed out.

Randy still sat in Mike's room blocking out the voices as best he could. Punk leaned against the door-frame looking in on him. Everyone else was at dinner.

"Hey, let's go," Punk said.

Randy did not move.

Punk pressed his lips together and went in after him. He grabbed Randy by the arm and dragged him up. Randy's eyes flashed.

"Don't fight me," Punk said. "Let's get out of here and go look for Mike...okay?"

Randy slowly nodded.

Both men walked out of their friend's room and made their way downstairs. Vickie came out of a hidden door in a large grandfather clock.

"Hi, boys," she greeted.

"Vickie," Punk said.

"Where are you two heading off for?"

"Going to look for Mike," Punk answered.

"Wait. What?"

"Mike has been missing since this afternoon," Punk replied. "Randy and I are going back to the Witches' Brew to see where he could have gone."

She slowly nodded her head. "Good luck. You know Mike though."

"We know."

The two men made it to the front door and opened it.

"Mike!" Randy fell on his knees next to Mike's body.

"Dear God," Punk breathed.

Mike was in terrible shape. His blood pooled around him. Chunks of flesh were gone from his chest and legs revealing sinews of muscle and bone. Surprisingly, he was still alive. His breathing was slow and labored. He stared up at Randy with half-closed eyes. He reached up to him. Randy grabbed his hand and brought it to his chest.

"Mike...Michael, what happened?" Randy asked.

Vickie came to Randy's side. "We need to get him inside. We need to get him to the chamber."

Randy scooped Mike into his arms and followed Vickie. The other members of the house came to see what was going on.

"Oh my God," Drew breathed.

"Jeez," was all John could say.

Alex's eyes were wide with shock.

Yoshi followed behind Randy through the hidden door. Down they went into the lower areas of the house. They hurriedly walked through halls passing doors upon doors. Vickie pulled out a key and placed into a mouth of a tiger statue. The wall behind it opened and they entered. Occult symbols decorated the walls, ceiling, and floor. Fire pyres stood in all four corners and immediately lit when they entered.

"Put him in the middle of the room," Vickie said.

Randy nodded and did as he was told.

Alicia entered the room. She stared at Mike and brought her hands to her mouth trying to muffle the sounds of grief.

Vickie stood at Mike's head and Alicia positioned herself at his feet. Yoshi took Randy and guided him outside.

"I want to stay with him," Randy protested.

"I understand, but you can't be here," Yoshi said. "What we are going to do is going to test our knowledge and our resilience. You can't have you in there while we are trying to heal him. We might end up killing you."

"But—"

"Stay out here. Please."

Yoshi went back inside and the door closed. Randy stared at it and started to beat the wall. Punk ran to him and pulled him away from the bloodied wall.

"Let me go," Randy growled.

"NO!" Punk said.

John and Drew came to assist as well. The three tried to hold him down, but Randy was able to get away and went back to punching the wall. Alex appeared and watched. After a few moments, Randy stopped and slowly turned to him.

Drew and John turned to see Alex. 'Run' they mouthed.

"I will kill you," Randy said. "I will kill you!"

He ran towards Alex, but Punk tackled him. Drew and John held him down giving Punk a chance to sink his fangs into Randy's neck. He stayed latched until Randy stopped moving. He stood up and wiped his forehead.

"That should do it," Punk replied.

Drew and John looked at each other but did not let go of Randy. He started to stir and they held fast. Randy tried to fight them off but was too weak. He lay there staring up at the ceiling.

_"You know what got him."_

_ "It was your weakness that put him in danger."_

_ "If you did your job, he would have been safe."_

Randy closed his eyes and began to cry.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything dealing with WWE or any song lyrics that is used as a muse. I don't own the rights to the movie "The Dead Hate the Living," but I do have a copy for my DVD collection.  
**

**Warning: There is harsh language and adult themes as well as Slash between some of the characters (mostly M/M).**

**Chapter Four**

Mike woke with a start. He looked around his room trying to figure out what happened, how he got there, where his clothes was, and who was in his bed. The blond ran his hand through his hair trying to calm his mind. He brought his knees up and places his elbows on them.

_Okay, Mike,_ he thought. _First, where are you?_

He looked around his room once more.

_Kay, I'm in my room. That's good. That's great. Who's in bed in with me?_

He looked to his left and smiled. Curled up next to him was Randy. He leaned over and kissed the man on the forehead. He looked to his right and saw Punk's back to him. He shrugged his shoulders and kissed the man's neck. Punk moaned.

_Clothes...?_

Mike looked down and saw that he was in boxers and bandages. Randy was in sweatpants and Punk was in boxers. Mike nodded.

_Now what happened and how the fuck did I get here?_

Mike rubbed his chin trying to remember anything.

Punk turned over and blinked at Mike. He slowly sat up and placed his arm around his shoulders. "Dude, you got us worried."

When Punk spoke, Randy's eyes flew open. He blinked and rubbed them trying to wake up.

"Sorry," Mike muttered.

"What happened, man?" Punk asked.

"I don't remember...much."

Punk nodded as Randy sat up. He cut his eyes sideways every so often.

"What day is it?" Mike asked.

"Monday," Randy said. "You've been out for a few days."

"A few days?" Mike asked. "A few days?"

"Chill, Mike," Punk said.

A knock came and Mike said, "Come in."

Drew entered with a tray of breakfast. He smiled at Mike and walked over to him. Punk released his hold and watched as Drew placed the tray over Mike's lap causing Randy, Mike, and Punk to look over it. There was a plate of pancakes, sausage links, and scrambled eggs, a small plate with buttered toast with a small jar of grape jelly, a bowl of sliced apples and oranges, and a tall glass of OJ.

"Jack made it," Drew explained.

"Wow," the three said.

John entered and took a seat at the foot of the bed as more of the team came in. Undertaker and Kane were last. Everyone smiled at Mike.

"How are you?" Undertaker asked.

"Good, I guess," Mike replied. He watched as Punk took his bowl of fruit.

"I like oranges," Punk mumbled.

Alex stood in the corner and could feel Randy's eyes on him. He shifted his weight. He did not want to be there really, but he had to see if Mike was doing okay.

Everyone made chit-chat while Mike ate his breakfast.

"Motherfucker!" came from somewhere in the house.

Everyone looked to Mike's open door.

"Was that Matt?" John asked.

"Where the hell is everybody?" the other asked.

"That's Jeff," Vickie said.

They could hear two individuals walking up the stairs and down the hall. They passed Mike's door and looked in. Matt had long black hair that he kept in a ponytail and Jeff's hair was streaked in blond, blue, and purple with hints of black that hung loose around his face.

"Why is everyone in here?" Matt asked.

"Why is Mike in bandages?" Jeff questioned.

"Who's the new guy?" Matt asked looking at Alex.

"And where's Edge and Jericho?"

The brothers folded their arms over their chest waiting for an answer.

"We're checking on Mike," John replied.

"He was attacked," Drew said.

"That's Alex. He's from the Society," Punk said.

"Edge and Jericho are still hunting," Kane replied.

The brothers nodded and looked at each other. Matt pointed at his brother and back at himself. Jeff nodded.

"Kay," Matt replied. "Why are Punk and Randy in Mike's bed?"

Randy blushed and Punk smiled.

"I was wondering the same thing when I woke up," Mike replied. "I don't care right now. I'm just happy to be alive."

"We are too," Vickie said. "It took a lot out of me, Alicia, and Yoshi to get you healed decently."

"So..." Matt began.

"What happened?" Jeff finished.

Mike sighed. "First, don't blame Alex for what happened to me. I didn't let him know what I was doing. I wanted to do everything myself."

Everyone nodded.

"I thought I saw a demon go down into the sewers near the Witches' Brew," Mike explained. "I wanted to check and make sure that what I was seeing was true and not my mind playing tricks on me."

"Mike," Randy growled.

"I know it was stupid, but I had to check," Mike replied. "I went searching for about an hour or so. I was about to turn back until I found a nest...a large bird's nest."

Alex slowly shook his head in confusion and Mike saw that.

"The nest is used as a sleeping area and a mating place. They hide their kills in it as well like a tiger would do," Mike explained to him. "This one looked like it could contain about five demons, but there were far more than that when..."

"What was in the nest?" Randy quickly asked.

"Tree branches...large twigs...human bodies..."

Randy said, "I didn't think there would be another one."

"Continue," Taker said.

"I made my way out only to see three climbing down the entrance. I hid, but they found me," Mike said. "I was placed in a room."

"They must have made it," Randy said. "Not uncommon."

"Well, four came in the first time," Mike said. "Then, eight. I remember the room getting very hot before I passed out."

The room fell silent.

"If there are more nests in the sewers, then the Nahtocoon are being pushed out," Randy said, "which is odd."

"The what?" Drew asked.

"There lots of demons that feel comfortable in the sewers," Randy explained. "Two types are seen the most: the Nahtocoon and the Nahtiki. I know for a fact that Mike was attacked by the Nahtiki. They'll eat anything...even each other if food is scarce. Favorite food is humans though. Nahtocoons are friendly toward humans. They find us very interesting."

"Why is that?" Alex asked.

"We just are to them," Randy said as he glared at the young man. "They try to learn our language as best they can. Best way to tell the difference between them is their scales. Nahtikis have green and blue scales."

"Nahtocoons have green and orange, right?" Matt asked.

Randy nodded.

"If I remember correctly, Nahtocoons are all female while the Nahtikis are all male," Jeff said.

"Then...how do they mate?" John asked.

"With each other," Randy said. "They'll pair up, mate, and wait. Once the child is born, the Nahtocoon will raise it until it's two because that's when their scales change. If blue shows up, they'll give the child up. Orange, it stays."

"Interesting," Jack said.

Randy nodded as he climbed out of the bed. "Matt, Jeff, Jack, suit up. We're going hunting."

…

Mike lay in bed staring up at his ceiling. He missed the warm bodies that were sleeping next to him. Randy went out on a hunt and Punk...well, he really did not know where Punk went off to. Mike sighed and grimaced in pain. He wanted to talk to Randy and ask what happened with his hands. He wanted to talk to him about what happened in the room. He just wanted Randy to stay with him. People came and went making sure that he was okay. He would smile and nod. The truth was he just wanted Randy to hold him.

Mike sighed again and shifted to get comfortable.

"Mike?" a voice called.

"Come in, Cody," Mike said.

The door opened and sad eyes stared at him. "Are you okay?"

Mike nodded as he sat up. The young man ran to his friend and threw his arms around Mike's neck. He grimaced a little and hugged the young man back.

"I'm so glad," he mumbled into Mike's neck. "Here." Cody handed him a bag and took a seat on the edge of the bed.

Mike took it and looked inside. "Hey, cookies." He pulled one out and took a bite. "So good."

Cody nodded. "Falend made it. It's Chocolate Cheesecake."

"I love chocolate. I love cheesecake." He held out the bag for Cody to take one.

Cody reached in and bit into the cookie. "She gave you twenty."

"She didn't have to do that."

His friend smiled. "She heard that you were attacked on your walk and wanted to do something to make you feel better."

Mike placed the bag down and looked at his friend.

Cody stared at him. "What's wrong?"

"Can we be serious with each other?" Mike asked.

Cody nodded slowly while saying, "Dude, we've been friends for a long time. I hope we can be as truthful as possible with each other."

"Did you save me?"

The young man raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Did you save me, Cody?"

His friend shook his head.

Mike scooted back to lean against the headboard.

"Why would you ask that? What happened?"

Mike closed his eyes. "They came back. I don't know how long they left me alone, but they came back. I remember there were eight of them. I can still feel them feeding off of me." He gripped his chest. "I felt the room getting hotter and I saw flames" He opened his eyes to stare at his friend. "That's all I remember."

"Um...Mike," Cody began, "I don't know what to tell ya. I mean, I was out running errands when Teddy came to watch the store. It was just him and Falend."

"Do you think that Teddy..."

"Teddy would never leave the store."

"How about Falend?"

"Dude...she's just a regular, ordinary human."

Mike thought for a minute. "Are her eyes really violet?"

Cody nodded. "Strange, huh? At first, I thought they were just contacts. They're not." Cody rubbed Mike's knee. "Have you told anyone else? Undertaker? Kane? Or how about Vickie?"

"I told them what I told you...minus the flames."

"You have to tell them. They need to know about that part. What if there is another magic user in the city? They could be a problem."

"I don't think so."

Cody stared at him.

"I mean, he or she could have just killed me."

"Could have." Cody thought about it for a moment. His eyes lit up. "What if you did it?"

"What?"

"What if you freed yourself?"

Mike stared at him. "Huh?"

Punk walked by the room and stopped.

"Listen. You don't remember what happened, right? What if in your time of need, you manifested some sort of fire power, freed yourself, walked all the way back, and collapsed on the porch?" Cody asked.

Mike's jaw slowly dropped trying to comprehend what he just heard.

"That sounds plausible," Punk said as he entered the room. He took a seat beside Mike and looked through the bag.

"What are you doing?" Mike asked.

"Seeing what you got," Punk answered as he took a cookie. "Let's think about this for a second. You told me that you were left on a doorstop of an ex-nun when you were just a baby, right?"

Mike nodded.

"What if your parents were magic users?" Punk asked.

"Problem, most magic users and psychics manifest their abilities between the ages of thirteen and twenty," Mike replied.

"Most," Cody emphasized. "Ted's powers came when he was twenty-five...right around when he met me. Yours could have came about at that moment of need."

"Problem, I could never free myself from chains," Mike said. "I've tried before and failed. Also, with the amount of wounds I had on me, how the fuck did I get back here and why the fuck won't I go to the hospital in the first place?" Mike asked.

Punk and Cody looked at each other.

"See." Mike got another cookie. "These are really good."

"I think that's why Teddy hired her," Cody said.

"Hired who?" Punk asked as he got another cookie.

"New girl...Falend MacKane," Cody replied.

"Oh...Irish or Scottish?" Punk questioned.

"American," Cody replied.

"Oh," Punk sighed.

After five minutes of silence, Cody asked, "Are you going to tell them?"

"I don't know yet," Mike answered. "I just don't know."

Alicia was outside listening to everything. Punk had not seen her when he walked by for she went invisible. She chewed on her bottom lip before leaving.

…

Randy led the men through the sewers retracing Mike's steps. Each man wore black SWAT style outfits and gas masks that kept the smell of shit at bay. Vickie gave them several vials that they could use. Each had two vials of acid, two of flash fire, two of ice bombs, and three healing potions. Each had night-vision goggles as well. Randy had two swords strapped to his back, a Glock, two Jericho 941s at his sides, and a Beretta Cheetah strapped to his ankle. The Hardy boys had two sawed off shotguns strapped to their backs, another in their hands, two Glock 39s at their sides, and throwing daggers hidden all over their bodies. Jack had a large battle axe strapped to his back, a shotgun, brass knuckles, and two Glock 39s at his sides.

Randy took things slow like Mike did. He did not want things to go crazy especially since this was Jack's first demon hunt. He spent an hour like Mike checking every crack, every crevice, every hiding hole they came across. They came upon the nest and there was a hole going through it.

"Cover me," Randy said.

The three nodded. Jack gripped the shotgun tightly and positioned himself to watch their backs. Jeff and Matt flanked Randy and stayed back to watch at the ready.

Randy crept closer.

_"Something's not right."_

Randy stopped.

_"Something is not right."_

Randy took off his gas mask. He could still smell the remnants of a fire. He took off his night-vision goggles and pulled out a flashlight. He could see that the nest was set ablaze some time ago and the bodies entwined in the branches and twigs were charred. The heaviest damage was the edges of the hole. He shook his head.

_"Someone did this."_

He looked to the men and said, "Something's not right."

Randy placed his goggles back on as well as the gas mask. He went through the hole because he knew that behind the nest would be more tunnels and possible rooms where the Nahtiki kept their prey. They searched each room and until they came to the final one.

"You sure about this?" Jeff asked.

"All the rooms were empty," Randy replied.

"I know...and this is the last one...the one that Mike could have been kept in," Jeff said.

Randy nodded and entered the room. There was a chain hanging from the ceiling, an hook on the ground with a chain still looped through laying on the ground, and eight burnt bodies. Randy took off his goggles and entered. He circled the room surveying what was before him. He took out his flashlight and went to examined the bodies.

Jeff and Matt took their goggles off as well. They took out their flashlights and examined the walls. Jack stood in the doorway with his back to them.

"Dude," Jeff breathed.

Randy looked at him.

"Whatever or who ever did this scorched the walls pretty deep," he said as he scrapped the walls with one of his daggers. "Some of the concrete has warped."

"Can concrete warp?" Matt asked.

"I know that concrete slabs for like flooring or counter tops can," Jack stated.

"How about blocks?" Jeff questioned.

"They shouldn't," he answered.

"Some of these have warped," Jeff said.

Jack turned his head to look over his left shoulder. "That's impossible."

"Impossible, but he's right," Matt replied as he ran his hands over the walls. "Some of areas of the concrete walls have warped."

The four men looked at each.

"Let's move out," Randy said.

…

Kane tended to the his garden. He grew vegetables, herbs, and some flowers. He pulled up the weeds that were growing when he heard someone behind him. The large man turned to look.

Alicia stared at him and smiled.

"What can I help you with?" he asked.

"I overheard something and I don't know if I should tell Undertaker," she replied.

"Is it bad?"

She ran her hand through her honey blond hair. "I think so but not sure. It has to do with Mike."

Kane stood up and walked over to a bench. She followed and sat very close to him. Kane swallowed hard as he lightly blushed. He smiled slightly to himself.

"I overhead Mike talking about what happened to him and how he might have escaped," she said.

Kane nodded.

"He thinks that maybe a magic user might have saved him." She bit her bottom lip.

"So...either Cody or Ted was responsible?"

She shook her head. "I don't think so. Cody was running errands and Teddy was watching the store. They have a new girl, but she's just a human."

"How did you overhear this?"

"I was going to check in on him but stood outside. I heard someone coming and went invisible," she said. "I know that I shouldn't have done it, but..."

"I understand. What else happened?"

She told him everything she could remember and they both sat in silence. He mulled over what she told him and she worried about what she told him. Alicia let out a yelp when something grabbed the back of her head.

"Shit," Kane said as he grabbed the zombie's arm and snapped it off. He stood and broke the creature's neck.

Alicia ripped the arm from her hair. "That's so disgusting. What was that?"

"More and more have been rising lately," Kane said as he scanned the area. He spotted three more stumbling towards them. "Go inside."

She nodded and ran to the house. Kane did not want her to see what he was about to do. He smiled his sadistic smile as he went and grabbed his shovel. He slung it over his shoulder and slowly walked to them.

For eighteen minutes, Alicia sat in the kitchen waiting for Kane.

Vickie came in and stared at her. "What's wrong?"

"Zombies," Alicia said.

"Those fucking things again," Vickie groaned. "It's the damn Leylines. I can't wait until I get my hands around the person's neck who has been messing with them."

Alicia stared at her.

"Calm down, calm down. Who's taking care of the Zombies?"

"Kane."

Vickie nodded. "Good." She stared at the young woman. "What's wrong?"

"Just worried."

"About Kane?" Vickie laughed. "He's a big boy. He can take care of himself."

Alicia nodded and went back to looking out the screen door. When Kane came into view, she smiled. She slid the door open for him.

"I need a shower," he mumbled as he walked by. "Thanks."

She nodded and watched Kane walk out of the kitchen.

Vickie looked from Alicia to the big lug and back again. "Wow."

Alicia turned her attention back to Vickie. "What?"

"Honey, you have it bad."

"Have what bad?"

"If I were you, I would offer to help with his shower." Vickie giggled and left the kitchen.

Alicia smiled to herself as she walked out. She made her way to Kane's room and stood outside his bedroom door. She bit her lower lip as she bounced on her toes. The door opened and Kane looked down at her.

"Hi," she said.

"Hello," he replied back. "I think you should tell Vickie what you told me. I'll let my brother know as well."

"Okay."

He smiled at her and closed the door. She sighed and walked away. He leaned against the door and sighed before going to take a shower.

It was not long before Vickie went running to Undertaker. He stared up at her from his paperwork.

"You need to hear this," she said.

"Well, hello to you," Taker said.

"There might be another magic user in the city."

Taker leaned back in his chair.

"Alicia heard Mike and Cody and Punk talking about how Mike might have gotten away from the demons."

"Yeah...he told everyone," Taker said. "You were there as well."

"He remembered seeing flames."

Taker folded his hands together.

"What if this magic user is messing with the Leylines?" she asked.

"I doubt that seeing he or she saved Mike," he replied.

"Maybe they did it to throw us off?" she suggested.

Taker shrugged his shoulders.

"What are you going to do about it?"

"Nothing at the moment," Taker replied. "He has yet to come and tell me that part of the story. I'm not going to confront him on hearsay."

"Hearsay? Hearsay!"

"Yes, hearsay."

"Excuse me?"

"You're jumping to conclusions, Vickie," Taker said. "Let Mike come and let me know first. If what he says matches what you are telling me about the flames, then we'll go looking for this person. He's already hurt as it is. I'm not going to put him through anymore pain at this time."

"You do realize that the anniversary is four days away, right?"

Silence fell in the room for five minutes.

"I'm aware. We have to deal with things one day at a time," Kane said.

Vickie asked, "You don't think he went looking for the demons to kill himself, do you?"

Taker shook his head. "He was curious."

Vickie nodded.

"If there is another magic user in the city, we can ask them to join forces with us," Taker said.

"And what if they refuse?" Vickie asked.

"They can either leave or die."

She nodded and walked out.

Soon, Randy and his team made it back and headed straight to Undertaker's office. He knocked and waited.

"Enter," Taker said.

The four men did so.

Taker stared at them. "So?"

"The nest had been destroyed," Randy replied. "There were eight demon bodies."

"Cause of death?"

"Fire," Randy said.

"Fire?"

The men nodded.

"Tell me everything," Taker said.

Each men gave what the saw and what they thought. In the end, it was the same story. Something or someone destroyed the nest with enough power that it scorched the concrete walls deeply and caused the blocks to warp.

Taker sat, mind deep in thought.

"Your thoughts on what might have killed the Nahtiki and caused the blocks to warp?" Taker asked Randy.

"Honestly, I think it could be a magic user," Randy stated. "Someone who's powerful enough to control fire."

"Jeff?"

"I'm thinking that it might be another demon," Jeff replied and Matt nodded.

"Jack?" Taker said.

"I don't know," the youngest member said. "Both answers seem correct."

Taker nodded. "Jeff, Matt, debriefing in the morning."

The brothers nodded.

"Dismissed."

The four men bowed and left.

A bookcase shifted to the side and Kane stepped out.

"How much did you hear?" Taker asked.

"Enough," Kane said. "Alicia came to me and told me about Mike."

"As well as Vickie."

"And?"

"I'll wait for him to come to me."

Kane nodded.

"It's been awhile since we've played chest...care to join me?"

Kane thought a moment. "Sure."

The four men broke off to do their own thing. Jack went to change and headed to the weight room. Jeff and Matt went to change as well and decided to rest for the night. Randy made his way to Mike's room. He stood outside the door and listened to the television going. He smiled and knocked.

"Come in," Mike said.

He entered. "How are you feeling?"

"Good," Mike replied. "Cookie?"

"Where did you get cookies?"

"Cody came by."

Randy nodded. "Not now. I need to get dinner. Do you want anything?"

"A sandwich."

"Okay, let me change and I'll go make us some sandwiches." Randy went to his room and quickly undressed, showered, and dressed again in sweatpants. He ran to the kitchen and made sandwiches for both Mike and himself.

Drew walked in and watched him. Randy grabbed the plate of sandwiches, two bags of chips, and a case of beer that he stopped to buy on his way back from the mission.

"Do you need help?" Drew asked.

"Take the beer," Randy said.

Drew nodded, took the case, and followed him to Mike's room. Drew placed the case down and grabbed a beer. "Have fun watching whatever."

"Several movies came in that I ordered," Mike said. "Could you pop one in?"

Randy nodded and the two friends watched a movie called "The Dead Hate the Living" while they ate and drank beer. They sat and stared at the screen as the credits rolled.

"Why did we watch this again?" Randy asked.

"There's nothing else on and I just got it in among several others," Mike replied. "You're the one that picked it."

"I'll give you that." He shook his head. "The dead may hate the living, but the living hate this movie."

Mike laughed.

"Dear God!"

Mike snuggled up close to Randy.

"You have some bad tastes in movies," Randy replied.

"The movie had its moments," Mike said.

"Don't try to justify it."

Mike stared at his friend. He pushed him down and kissed him. At first, Randy was in shock and let Mike's tongue roam around his mouth. He let out a moan before tossing Mike on his back and asserting his dominance. Mike let out a yelp in Randy's mouth at the turn of events and because of the pain that shot through is body.

Randy stopped and looked at him. "Sorry."

Mike shifted to get comfortable. "It's okay."

"You know...let's wait...until you're fully healed."

Mike sighed.

"I know you need this and I need this, but I don't want you in pain."

Mike rubbed his cheek. "You're very sweet."

"And you're in pain." Randy rolled off of Mike.

Mike nodded and laid his head on Randy's chest. He snuck his hand into Randy's sweatpants and began to rub the tip of his cock. Randy let out a sigh. He licked his lips and trusted up. Mike smiled and turned his head to stare up at Randy.

"You are so bad," Randy said.

"I know, I know," Mike said as he slid down, tugging on the sweatpants just far enough down to release Randy's stiffened member.

Randy bit his lower lip as Mike took his whole member into his mouth. He looked up at the ceiling and smiled.

Alex stared at Mike's door. He wanted to talk to the man that he had admired for so long but couldn't not bring himself to do so. He shook his head and went to his room. He sat on his bed and stared at a journal on his nightstand. The young man picked it up and began to write.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything dealing with WWE or any song lyrics that is used as a muse. I also don't own any rights to the iPod.  
**

**Warning: There is harsh language and adult themes as well as Slash between some of the characters (mostly M/M).**

**Chapter Five**

Mike watched Randy while he slept. He gently brushed his hand across the older man's forehead, down the bridge of his nose, and over his lips. Mike leaned down and kissed them. He climbed out of bed and went to take a shower. Randy blinked a few times but sleep called to him.

Mike came out of the shower and wiped the fogged mirror clean to see his face. He stared into his own eyes. He felt empty and alone. He grabbed his chest where his heart was. He used to feel love, hate, fear, anger. Most of the time, he was numb. He would put on a fake smile, laugh at jokes...it was just a mask. He lost his true self five years ago. He lost the true Michael Mizanin that night.

_ "I love you," she said._

_ "I love you too," Mike replied._

_ "Are you happy?"_

_ "Of course."_

_ Mike stared down into blue eyes that was so clear and perfect. They shimmered and twinkled like stars. He rubbed her cheeks._

_ "I'm going to be a daddy," Mike replied._

_ The young woman nodded. "You're going to be a daddy."_

Mike squeezed his eyes shut, trying to fight back the tears that welled up.

_ "Michael! Help me!" she screamed._

_ "Leave her alone!" he yelled._

_ "Michael!"_

Mike gripped his chest hard when a pang of heat came. He breathed deeply, trying to calm down. He gritted his teeth as well. The man took one last look in the mirror before turning away. He stood in the bathroom door way trying to slow his breathing. He wiped away the tears and got dressed, making sure to stuff his iPod into his back pocket. Mike slowly crept out of the room, not wanting to wake Randy. He went to Undertaker's office first and found that he was not there. He went to his boss's bedroom and got no answer. Mike scratched the back of his head, trying to figure out where Undertaker could be at five in the morning. He nodded and went to the weapons room.

A large bald man looked up at him from a computer.

"Hey, Show," Mike greeted.

"Hi, Mike," the man greeted back. "You're up early."

Mike nodded. "I'm looking for Undertaker. I think he's at the funeral home."

"Do you want me to drive you down there?" he asked as he was about to get up.

Mike shook his head. "I'll walk."

Show laughed. "That's like an hour walk through the cemetery."

"I know."

Show stared at him in disbelief.

"What?"

"Are you high? Wait, don't answer that," Show said. "You got healed by the users. Are you retarded?"

Mike crossed his arms over his chest. "Really? Really? Really, Show?"

"Just asking," Show said. "Don't you know what's been going on out there in the cemetery?"

Mike shook his head.

"Walkers, stumblers...zombies."

"Wait...what?"

Show nodded. "They've been popping up more and more lately."

"Kay. Well, I came for a weapon. I would like a sword."

Show shook his head and went to the back. "What kind would you like? Asian style? European?"

"A scimitar."

Show nodded as he picked one up. He placed it down and picked up another. He examined it, balanced it on a finger, and put it back. He smiled when he found one that would suit Mike.

"Here you go," Show said as he handed it to him.

The black blade was curved. There was a design of feathers going from the fuller to the tip. The guard was set in bat-like wings. The grip was made out of wood. On one side was a faint image of an angel and on the other side was another faint image of a demon. The pommel was made out of round metal. It looked like wings encircling each other, one side feathered and the other side scaled.

Mike took it and held it in his hands. He swung it and twirled it in his hand. "Nice balance."

Show nodded. "I've had that for a long while. I thought you would like it." He tilted his head. "It suits you."

Mike nodded and smiled broadly while he looked at it.

"Oh, here's the sheath," Show said.

Mike took the plain white sheath and sheathed his sword.

"Are you sure you don't want me to drive you?" Show asked again with a warm smile.

"I'll walk," Mike said. "Thanks though."

Show shook his head and went back to the computer.

Mike secured the sword to his side as he went out the sliding door in the kitchen. He made sure to close the door before walking down to the funeral home. He had to go through the cemetery and then some woods and another cemetery. Mike did not mind the walk unlike the others of the house. The walk helped to clear his mind...and elevate frustrations.

A person stumbled toward him and Mike smiled. He took out his iPod, placed his ear-buds in, and selected a song. He cracked his neck as the music brought his blood to a boil.

**No, wake up, are you alive will you listen to me**

**I'm gonna talk about some freaky shit now**

**Someone is gonna die when you listen to me**

**Let the living die, let the living die**

Mike smiled as he pulled out his blade. He got a running start, leapt in the air, and sliced through the undead man's neck. He watched as the head rolled a few feet away. The body swayed and fell to the side.

"That was fucking nice," he whispered to himself.

Another stood behind him. It reached its hand out to grab the back of his head. Without looking, Mike plunged his sword into the zombie's gut and pulled up. He began to chuckle.

"I was needing a workout."

Meanwhile, Randy was on his back when he turned over to his right and reached his arm out. He sat up and looked at the empty spot. He smiled as someone hugged him from the other side.

"Mike, don't scare me like that," Randy said as he turned over.

Punk sat up. "I'm not Mike."

Randy stared at him.

"Morning," Punk said as he rubbed his head. "Mike left like an hour ago. You looked lonely, so I climbed in bed with you."

Randy quirked an eyebrow.

"You know you talk in your sleep?"

"Shut up."

"You said some strange things...about Mike and stuff," Punk said. He yawned and stretched. He began to scratch Randy's back.

Randy stiffened up and Punk gave a sheepish smile.

"Why do you hate me?" Punk asked.

"I don't hate you," Randy said. "I just don't like you."

"Fair enough." Punk leaned closer to him and whispered, "But why?"

_"He's so irritating."_

_"Kill him already."_

Punk began to nibble on Randy's ear and Randy let out a moan.

His eyes grew wide at what was happening and how his body reacted. He pulled away and said, "Stop."

"Why?"

Randy scrambled out of bed and landed on the floor. Punk looked the ground, rest on his elbows, and chuckled.

"Just because I don't hate you doesn't me I want you to touch me," Randy said.

"Oh," Punk pouted.

Randy stood up rubbing his backside. "I'm going to go."

Punk shrugged and grabbed the blanket. Randy eyed Punk coldly as he settled to go to sleep again. Randy shook his head and left Mike's room.

…

Mike observed Undertaker and Kane as they prepared two bodies for a viewing that day. He did not speak but watched how they worked. He listened to music to pass time.

**Out on the road there are fireflies circling**

**Deep in the woods, where the lost souls hide**

**Over the hill there are men returning**

**Trying to find some peace of mind**

The two men cared for each body as if it was a living person who was merely sleeping.

**Oh, sleep my child**

They prepared the bodies (taking off clothes and jewelry or removed medical paraphernalia like bandages needles, etc), bathed them in strong disinfectant, embalmed them, cut their nails, combed their hair, placed coloring back into their skin with make-up and their secret rituals of making dead flesh look perfect, dressed them, and placed them into their caskets. The two were so good at what they did, it only took them two hours per body.

Mike helped set up the viewing rooms. He placed the flowers and offerings around the coffins and the room. He adjusted the lighting to make the room more welcoming and bright, a place of celebrating a life rather than a death.

Kane had Mike dress in a suit and greet friends and family members of the deceased. He would led them to the correct viewing room. He did his job without complaint. The young man handled everything like a man who knew the business.

Undertaker watched the young man as well as Kane.

"He has a knack for this," Undertaker said.

"He has a way about him that causes people to smile and forget about their pain and sorrow even if it is for a brief moment," Kane replied. "We should teach him."

Taker nodded.

Noon came and went. The viewers trickled to a stop. Mike escorted an elderly woman to her car and gave her a hug.

"You're such a sweet man," she said. "Thank you for what you have done today."

"It's my job, ma'am," Mike said. "Drive safely, okay?"

She nodded.

He watched as she drove away. Mike went back inside, made his way to Undertaker's office, and knocked.

"Enter," Undertaker said.

Mike did and took a seat next to Kane on the leather couch.

Undertaker stared at him and smiled. "You did good."

"Thanks," Mike replied. "Can we talk?"

"In private?" Taker asked.

"No, I want Kane to hear this as well," Mike said. He leaned forward onto his knees and rubbed his hands together. "I don't remember how I got out alive. I just remember extreme heat...and flames" He looked at Taker to see any change in the man, but there was none. "I don't know if it was caused by a creature, a person, or me."

Kane shifted to get a better look at Mike.

"Do you believe that you caused your own escape?" Taker asked.

Mike shook his head.

"What are your thoughts?" Kane questioned.

"Another demon or magic user helped me," Mike replied. "But most demons don't like humans only the Nahtocoons according to Randy."

Kane looked to Taker.

"Nahtocoons and Nahtikis don't have the ability to use magic," Taker said.

"Then it could have been a magic user," Mike said.

"Could have been," Taker said, "but we don't know."

Rubbing his thighs, Mike asked, "Could...could you search my mind?"

Taker and Kane looked at each other.

"Are you sure about this?" Kane asked.

Mike nodded.

Kane stood and began to move the furniture around in the room. Taker took off his jacket and placed on black leather gloves. Kane did the same but pulled on red gloves. Taker got a wooden folding chair from the closet and placed it in the middle of the room.

"Take off your clothes," Kane instructed. "Just leave on your underwear."

Mike did as he was instructed to do.

"Sit in the chair," Taker said.

Mike nodded and did so.

"This is going to hurt," Taker said.

"Oh...I'm aware, but I need to know," Mike said.

Kane and Taker began to circle him holding up their right hands. They began to chant, "Let the gates of the mind open to show us what lays beneath. Take us back to the time of darkness to see the light."

Their hands began glow white and Mike began to shake. He worked his mouth into a scream but clenched his teeth together. Tears began to stink his eyes as sweat poured forth. He started to float in the air and arms went above his head as a chain appeared. His feet were soon tied together and anchored to the ground. The clothes from the day of the attacked appeared on his body as well as his wounds. The room transformed into the his holding cell. Everything was dark. The door opened and eight individuals entered. They surrounded him as they talked with each other. One stepped forward and took a bite and more came. Mike let out a scream. Someone stood in the doorway. The heat filled the room followed by a roar of fire. The memory stopped.

Taker looked to his brother and they rewound it back to the person. Kane went over and stared down at the individual. He could not make out a face nor gender. He knew that the person was short. Of course, to him, everyone was short. He leaned forward a bit and tilted his head.

Something lashed out at him. He held up his hand to block the attack but felt a surge of pain. Taker ended the ritual and saw that the corpse that had been prepared for a viewing later that day was attached to his brother's forearm. The creature took a chunk out and began to chew that piece.

Mike lay on his side, trying to adjust his eyes.

Kane growled and snapped the creature's neck. He looked to his forearm and sighed.

"You okay?" Taker asked.

Kane nodded.

"Dear God," Mike breathed. "You were bitten." He began to sit up.

"It's fine," Kane replied.

"You're going to turn," Mike said.

"No...I won't," Kane said.

"We can't," Taker replied.

"What?" Mike asked as he rubbed his eyes. He could still feel the pain of his flesh being ripped off his body.

"We are not human," Taker replied.

Mike's eyes grew wide as Kane and Taker stared at the young man.

"Shit," the brothers said.

"What do you mean?" Mike said as he began to back away from them.

"Don't be afraid," Kane said.

"I'm not afraid," Mike said. "Just getting my back against the wall." _Just in case, _he thought.

"We're constructs, Michael," Taker said. "We're Frankenstein monsters...built by some man who believed that he could do better than God."

"Taker," Kane began.

His older brother shook his head.

"Fine. We were built because the man's wife could not have children," Kane explained. "Because we were made through science and magic, we cannot get sick, we cannot be poisoned, and we age very slowly. This bite will be a mere scar by tomorrow."

Mike looked from one man to the other. "Why...why didn't you tell me?"

Taker slowly went to him and knelt down. "We all have secrets. We should have told you most of all. We should have told you years ago, but..." He hung his head. "There is no excuse. We just should have told you."

"Would it have made a difference if we told you five years ago?" Kane asked.

Mike snapped his head to him.

"Kane," Taker said.

"You came to us five years ago," Kane said. "You were injured, in pain, delirious."

"Please." Taker shut his eyes.

"You lost so much that day. Would it have made a difference if we told you five years ago?"

Mike shook his head. "I don't know."

"How do you feel now?" Kane asked.

"Confused," Mike said.

"Imagine being told five years ago."

"I don't..."

Taker hushed Mike. "You would have been more confused then seeing..."

Mike shook his head, not wanting to remember.

Kane began to tend to his wound. "The anniversary is coming up soon. You can't run from it and you can't hide from it."

Taker cleared his throat. "The gathering is on the anniversary."

Tears began to well into Mike's eyes.

"We don't know where and we don't know how many will be there," Taker said.

"We'll just have to wait and see," Kane said. "Oh, don't mention this to anyone." He waved his injured forearm to him. "Or what we talked about here or what we did with your...memory."

Mike nodded and chuckled. "You know I won't."

Taker and Kane smiled.

Mike moved his eyes to the body. "What about Mrs. Weatherbottom?"

"Shit!" Taker and Kane breathed.

…

Ted and Cody worked the cafe like madmen. It had been a long while since the Occult shop had a lot of customers. Ted attributed it Falend's cookies while Cody believed that it was the rampant ghost sightings. Either way, the shop was packed throughout the day. Falend helped customers and baked cookies and other needed pastries. Cody ran the register and made the drinks. Ted helped customers and helped behind the cashwrap when he could.

When seven thirty rolled around, the crowd began to die down. Ted and Cody breathed a bit easier. Cody leaned forward onto the cashwrap and watched Falend clean the cafe area while Ted did a spot check over the store.

"Man, today was crazy," Cody said.

Falend nodded.

"I didn't know you knew as much as you did about the Occult."

"I used to study it as a hobby," she replied.

Cody nodded.

"I'm impressed that you know a lot," Ted said as he came back up.

"My family moved around so much that I had to get into something or lose my mind," Falend said.

"Understandable," Cody replied.

Falend went to the back to wash the dishes.

Cody and Ted stared at each other. Ted came closer to his partner so they could whisper.

"She's just full of surprises," Ted said.

"Did you see her eyes?"

"Yeah," Ted said. "She let her walls down a bit."

Cody nodded. "It's like she has as storm behind those eyes."

"It's just the walls that she puts up. Trying to keep everyone away. You know how it is: new in town, no family, one or two friends..."

"True." Cody thought a moment. "I was thinking..."

"What? She might have helped Mike?" Ted laughed.

Cody shook his head. "Since she knows about the Occult..."

Ted's cheery mood curbed. "You want to tell her about that supernatural world does exist? Come on, Cody."

"Why not? It would be nice to have someone not entwined in our world."

"And it would freak her out. Have you thought about that? She might run or think we're crazy."

Cody hung his head. "We could make her full time?"

Ted looked at him and folded his arms over his chest.

"I mean, she knows a lot of stuff. Information that you and me didn't even know about. It would at least give us some time off."

Ted thought a moment. "How about we hire some more people and go from there first? For all we know, today could have been a fluke. We haven't had that many customers in a long time. If business picks up, we'll hire a few more people and promote her to full time. Okay?"

Cody nodded.

"You still look sad. Why?"

"Thinking about Mike."

"You want to go visit him, you can. I mean, we close in like an hour."

Cody shook his head. He then smiled and called, "Falend?"

"Yeah!"

"Could you do me a favor?"

She came from the back. "Okay."

"Excellent. Could you drop off some of your world famous cookies to Mike for me? Please?"

She folded her arms over her chest. "It's out of my way but sure."

"Cool. When you're done in the back, just go ahead and go."

She nodded and went back to work.

Ted just stared at him. "You're so wrong for that."

"What?" Cody innocently asked.

"You're going to get her killed."

"Who's going to hurt her?"

Ted quirked an eyebrow. "Randy."

"Oh." Cody waved him off. "He won't do anything."

Ted leaned onto the cashwrap; his face just a few inches from Cody's. "You sure?"

Cody nodded and kissed his nose.

"If she ends up dead, you're finding me a new baker." Ted waved a finger at him.

Cody bit it causing Ted to laugh. He pulled his boyfriend in for a kiss.

…

Randy never left Mike's side when he came back from the funeral home. He asked him questions and scolded him for walking through the cemetery. Mike just smiled and took the verbal assault. He did not mind being fussed over.

Randy held Mike in his arms while they lay Mike's in bed.

"You had me so worried," Randy said.

"I know," Mike replied.

"Tell someone where you're going next time."

Mike nodded. He gripped his chest. Since the ritual, he felt like his chest was on fire.

"Are you okay?" Randy asked.

Mike nodded.

The door flew up and Jack smiled at them. "Edge and Chris are back!"

Mike and Randy looked at each other before scrambling out of bed. They were right behind Jack. They stood at the railing of the staircase looking over like children on Christmas day. Edge stood with his arms folded over his chest with a scowl on his face. Chris gave a sheepish grin to Taker.

Everyone in the house came out to see their friends.

"You've been gone for like ever," Drew said.

"Sorry," Chris replied. "Those vamps had us trekking them from country to country."

Edge shook his head.

Alicia came flying out of no where and hugged Chris. "We've missed you."

Chris smiled broadly. "You missed my pancakes."

She nodded and looked to Edge. "What's wrong with you?"

"Show them," Edge barked.

Chris shook his head.

"Do it."

"What?" Alicia asked.

Chris sighed and became incorporeal.

Everyone went silent. Drew and John began to talk amongst themselves. Taker ran his hand through his hair. Randy and Mike looked at each other. Kane pressed his lip into a thin line. Vickie and Yoshi sat down in cushioned chairs. Jack rubbed the back of his head. The Big Show looked around. Alex shifted his weight. Jeff and Matt stared down at the ground. Alicia backed up with her hands over her mouth.

Edge nodded. "Yeah."

Punk came walking in and looked around. "What's going on? Why is Jericho a ghost?"

"He can go ghost," Edge replied. "It happened when we were attacked in Ireland."

Chris became whole again. "I can also see ghosts and make them visible to everyone as well."

Taker nodded. "Okay, Drew, John, you have a new partner. Teach him what you guys know. Punk, Jack, Edge...looks like you three will be together until we can find another vampire hunter."

Edge shook his head and pointed to Alex. "Who's he?"

"I'm Alex...Alex Riley," Alex replied.

"He's from the Society," Jeff replied.

"Damnit!" Edge exclaimed.

Alex flinched.

"He's shadowing me," Mike said.

Edge nodded and stormed off to his room.

Jeff and Matt went up to Taker.

He sighed. "Sorry about that boys. I had to take care of some bodies for viewings today. Chris, whenever you and Edge have a chance."

Chris nodded.

"Let's go," Taker said.

The brothers followed him to his office.

Drew and John dragged Chris to the kitchen with Alicia right behind. Almost everyone went their separate ways.

Yoshi looked up at Mike. "Hey, I've inventoried the books that came in."

"The thirty boxes full of books?" Mike asked with an annoyed look on his face.

Alex chuckled.

Yoshi nodded. "I haven't put them up yet. I know how you are. Get to reading so I can have my walking space back."

"Don't worry, don't worry.."

Yoshi nodded and went to the basement via the kitchen. Alex was left alone in the foyer. He looked up at Mike, Randy, and Jack.

"So...how are you feeling?" Alex asked.

"Good," Mike replied.

Before he could say anything, a knock came. Alex moved to open it.

"Oh, hi," he greeted.

Falend nodded. "Hi...um. Cody sent me. I have some cookies for Mike."

Upon hearing his name, Mike rushed downstairs and to the door, knocking Alex out of the way. He was confused but caught himself. He looked to Mike and Falend.

"Cookies," Mike said. "I love cookies."

She nodded. "Here you go, sir."

"Oh, yay!" Mike took the bag and smiled. "Come in, come in."

"I really ca..."

Mike grabbed her hand and pulled her in.

Randy and Jack stared down at them, trying to figure out what was going on. Alex just quirked an eyebrow at the sight before him.

"This is our house," Mike said.

Falend nodded. "Our?"

"I live with a lot of people."

Randy narrowed his eyes.

_"Who is she?"_

_ "She's after Mike."_

_ "You must deal with her."_

Kane from the kitchen and stared at her. Falend could feel the man's eyes on her. She shifted her weight. She did not like people staring at her. The storm behind her violet eyes raged with such voraciousness that it would put an uncontrolled frenzy to shame. Their eyes soon locked in a silent battle.

Mike did not seem to notice her tense up nor the staring contest. He talked about her cookies and how much he liked them. He expressed his thanks and hopes of getting to eat more of her cookies.

Kane broke the stare and went to go find Taker.

"You're welcome," Falend said. "Listen, I gotta go."

Mike nodded. "Okay. Let me walk you to your car."

She rolled her eyes and allowed him to escort her.

Alex, Jack, and Randy looked at each other.

"What was that about?" Jack asked.

"The staring contest or Mike?" Alex retorted.

"Both."

"I couldn't tell you about the staring contest...but he really like her cookies from what I can tell," Alex said.

"No shit, Sherlock. What's in her cookies?" Jack asked.

Alex shrugged his shoulders.

Randy chewed on the inner walls of his cheek. He wiped his mouth and walked back to his own room.

Kane did not bother knocking on Taker's office door. His brother looked up at him.

"I just met a very interesting young woman," Kane replied.

Jeff and Matt turned to him.

"I have a feeling that I might know her...from out past."

Taker inhaled deeply as the whites of his eyes appeared.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything dealing with WWE or any song lyrics that is used as a muse. I also do not own the rights any products mentioned in the story as well.  
**

**Warning: There is harsh language and adult themes as well as Slash between some of the characters (mostly M/M).**

**Chapter Six**

The next day, Kane got ready to go into town. Taker and he discussed Falend last night and both agreed to find some information about her. He dressed in black jeans, a black button up short sleeved shirt, and boots. He grabbed shades to hide his bi-colored eyes so not to scare anyone. His height alone was shock to everyone enough. He grabbed his keys when a knock came to his door.

"Enter," he said.

Alicia poked her head in. "Morning."

He looked at her. "Morning. What can I help you with?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to go to lunch."

Kane stopped doing what he was doing and stared at her.

"Well, I have things to do."

"Oh." She looked down at the ground. "Never mind then."

"You-uh-want to come along?"

She smiled brightly that caused his heart to flutter.

"Let me get dressed," she said as she ran out.

Kane smiled to himself and went to wait for her in the foyer. Punk came from the kitchen with a piece of toast in his mouth. He watched the second-in-command as he fidgeted.

_He never fidgets,_ Punk thought.

Alicia came bounding down the stairs. She wore a black micro-skirt with a white vest shirt and heels. She held a black clutch. Her hair was pulled into a ponytail.

"Sorry, it took me so long," she said.

Kane looked at her and blushed. "I didn't wait long." He stood. "Shall we?"

She smiled and they both walked out.

"Oh...this is going to be interesting." He thought to himself for a minute or two and smiled. "Matchmaker, matchmaker, make me a match, find me find, catch me a catch."

Drew stared at the back of Punk's head with wide eyes. Punk finished eating his toast and went upstairs. Drew went back to eating his cereal with his eyes still wide. John came in and pulled on his ponytail.

"What's wrong?" John asked.

Drew shook his head. "I'm okay."

"You don't look okay."

"It's fine."

John pulled Drew's band out and ran his fingers through the waves of dirty blond. He began to massage Drew's scalp.

"Punk was singing," Drew said.

John made a face. "Kay."

"He was signing a musical."

John stopped massaging and turned the Scotsman to face him. "Excuse me?"

"He was singing a musical...'Fiddler on the Roof'."

"Oh, that's fine."

"He was singing the matchmaker song."

"What? Why?"

"I don't know."

Jack came in and stared at the two. He asked, "What's wrong?"

"Punk was singing a musical," Drew replied.

"Kay...I'm going back to bed," Jack said.

He passed Alex and grabbed the new guy's arm.

"Hey, wait," Alex said.

"Don't go in there," Jack said.

"Why?"

Jack looked down at him. "You don't want to get involved."

"It can't be that bad."

"John and Drew in there...comforting each other."

Alex stared at him.

"Punk."

"What about him?"

"He's...unique. Special. Very hands on."

Alex blushed.

"Most Dampyrs are."

"Really?"

Jack nodded as he walked away.

Alex decided to follow him. "Why is that?"

"Not quite sure. They tend to attach themselves very closely to the people they feed off of."

"I thought they didn't need to feed off of blood."

"They can...in a fix. Most of the time, they'll just eat."

Alex nodded.

"Punk has fed off of almost everyone here. He likes Mike the most...something about his blood being very sweet...like candy."

They stood in front of Jack's door.

"I was thinking about going back to bed, but I might work out instead," Jack said.

"There's a gym here?"

Jack looked at him. "They haven't given you a tour?"

Alex shook his head.

"Wow. Let me get a quick shower, get dressed, and I'll show you around."

"Cool."

Mike walked down the hall passing them.

"Morning," he greeted.

"Morning," they said.

"Alex, sorry we haven't been going out on missions," Mike apologized.

"That's fine," Alex said. "I can wait till you get better."

Mike nodded and went on his way.

Both men watched after him.

"What's up with him and Randy?" Alex asked.

"Been friends and lovers for a few years," Jack replied.

"Oh," Alex said.

Jack looked at him and laughed. "Have a slight crush and got slightly crushed? Don't worry about it. Mike has this affect on people."

Alex nodded.

Punk walked by and asked, "Have you seen Mike?"

They pointed and watched as he continued his search.

Jack smiled broadly. "Let me quickly take a shower and show you around."

Alex nodded and waited outside. He decided to play a game on his phone. Thirty minutes later, Jack came out of his room, slapped the newbie on the chest, and they went on their way.

…

Kane pulled his Hummer to a stop in a spot at the Witches' Brew. He got out first and helped Alicia down.

"What do you have to do here?" she asked.

"I need to check up on some things," he answered.

She nodded and they entered the store. Cody looked up at them with a smile.

"Good morning...well afternoon," he greeted.

"Afternoon," Kane said.

"Good afternoon," Alicia greeted.

"What can I get you two?" Cody asked.

"I would like a small Caramel Latte," Alicia said.

"Would you like a cookie or a slice of cheesecake?" he offered. "All fresh."

"Maybe later," she said.

"How about you, Kane?" Cody asked.

"Large coffee," he answered.

"Plain coffee?"

Kane nodded. "I'm a plain kind of guy."

Cody smiled. "Interest you in some pastries?"

Kane shook his head.

"That'll be $4.40," Cody said.

Kane and Alicia pulled out their cash.

"I got it," Kane said.

"You sure?" Alicia asked.

He nodded and handed Cody a ten. "Keep the change."

"I knew there was a reason why I liked you. Give me three minutes." Cody went about making their drinks while they waited. "Here you go."

"Thanks," they both said.

"Welcome."

Kane looked to Alicia. "Why don't you go ahead and look around? I have some things that I need to discuss with Cody."

Alicia nodded and went to browse.

Kane watched after her.

Cody smirked. "I was wondering when you two would get together."

"What?"

"I can tell that you have a thing for her and she has a thing for you." Cody leaned onto the cashwrap. "So...what's on your mind?"

"You're new girl," Kane answered. "What's her name?"

"Falend MacKane," Cody said as he straightened up. "Why?"

"Curious. How old is she?"

"Um...between twenty-five and thirty. I'm not sure. Ted will know."

Kane nodded. "Where's she from?"

"Around."

Kane stared at him.

"Ted would know more than me."

"Any family?"

"I don't know," Cody said. "What's this about?"

"She reminds me of someone that Undertaker and I once knew."

Cody nodded. "If you want, you can ask her some questions. She's out getting more ingredients. Her cookies are selling really well. She decided to make cheesecakes for us so we don't have to buy it."

"Do you know when she'll be back?"

"Hard to tell," Cody said. "I think in about an hour or two."

Kane nodded. He took a sip of coffee. "I'll be back...after lunch."

"Okay."

Kane went looking for Alicia and they both went out to go shopping. Cody folded his arms over his chest. He slowly shook his head.

…

Undertaker sat in his office listening to Chris and Edge. He had his eyes closed as they explained what happened on their mission. He took all the information and mulled it over in his mind.

"Oh, we also found out where the gathering will be held," Edge said.

Taker's eyes fell open.

"The abandoned docks," Chris added.

"Are you sure?" Taker asked.

Both men nodded.

Taker growled and his phone rang. "Hello?" He listened for a long while and began to jot down some notes. "Okay...thank you." He began to text.

"What's wrong?" Edge asked.

"You're about to go on your first ghost hunt, Chris," Taker said.

Chris looked to Edge, who stared back at him.

There was a knock.

"Enter," Taker said.

Drew and John came in.

"Boys, there's been several reports of ghostly activity in the historic neighborhood," Taker explained.

"The one that they've been renovating?" John inquired.

Taker nodded. "I need you three to go take care of it."

"Let's go suit up," Drew said.

Chris nodded and followed the two.

Edge stared at his boss.

"Don't tell Mike what you told me," Taker said.

"You think he might have a death wish?" Edge asked.

"The thought has crossed my mind." Taker rubbed his upper lip. "The anniversary is on the day of the gathering."

Edge nodded.

"When the time comes, I want you, Punk, Jack, and the new guy to go and take care of it."

"What about Mike?"

"He will stay here."

"Are you sure that is wise?" Edge asked. "What if he finds out?"

"I'm hoping that he won't. I'm hoping that he'll just stay in his room like a good little boy."

"This is Mike we're talking about," Edge reminded him. He stood up and began to pace. "You know what happened to him five years ago. You know what he went through."

"And it was because of him is why Kane and I started The Hunters."

Edge stared into Kane's eyes. "What happened?"

Kane worked over in his mind what he was going to tell this young man before him.

"Only you, Kane, and Mike know the whole story. No one else knows what the hell is going on. No one knows what really happened. All we know is that this date causes him so much misery and we have to walk on eggshells around him." Edge narrowed his eyes. "I want to know before I decide to play along again."

Kane locked eyes with Edge. "Five years ago, Mike was supposed to get married...be a father. His fiancee and he were on vacation in this city of ours. His car broke down on them and they decided to go for help. It was at night. They didn't know of what held the night. They didn't know that true monsters existed."

Edge stopped his pacing.

"The vampires chased them down like dogs. Taunting them. Terrorizing them. Torturing them. He sacrificed his life for hers. He wanted her to get away, but she couldn't outrun the speed of a vampire...no human can. They tore the baby from her womb and ate it before their eyes. Then, they ripped her apart, eating her flesh and drinking her blood."

Edge sat back down.

"You have never encountered vampires like these before and I pray that you and the others never will. These vampires were true monsters. The only need they cared for was the need to feed and feed they did. At that time, ten people would go missing in a week. A week. No bodies were found and if there was, nothing but scraps of flesh clinging onto bone."

Taker never took his eyes off of Edge. "Mike should have died that night. He should have been slaughtered like his fiancee, but instead, they drained him. How he was able to walk? How he was able to get to the funeral home is beyond me and Kane. But he did. We thought we were seeing a ghost until we saw the bite marks. Kane and I took him in and nursed him back to health. We became a little family. Every night, he had nightmares until one day it stopped. He become cold and distant from me and Kane. One night, he went out. He thought we didn't know, but we did...and we followed him. He was a man transformed. I've never seen anything that brutal in my life until I saw him go after the vampires. He and he alone took on a coven of them. This one had five vamps and he killed them all."

Edge slowly shook his head.

"Months past and coven after coven fell until the remaining ones banded together and fought back. Fifty vampires vs one man. He truly had a death wish when the anniversary came. He fought...he fought hard. Taking out at least fifteen before they got the upper hand. Kane and I went to his rescue. We took out twenty just to get to him and pull back. That day forward, Kane and I decided that it would be better to form a group of individuals with different talents that have been touched by a supernatural force in some way. Our oath: We, The Hunters, will take care of the problems that humans are too blind to see. We, The Hunters, will protect humanity from all that is evil. We, The Hunters, will fight until the good fight is done."

Edge broke the stare.

"Now, you know what happened five years ago. Now, you know why Kane and I worry when this time of year comes. We don't like leaving him alone or letting him go out by himself."

Edge was deep in thought.

"Mike might not seem much, but he can dish it out better than any person here. Put a weapon in his hands and he is a killing machine. He pours over books, devouring every bit of knowledge he can get his hands on. He has more information on the supernatural world than the magic users here."

Edge snapped his head up to Taker.

Taker nodded. "If I were to go out on any mission, I would rather have Mike on my team."

Edge gave a bittersweet smile. "What about the demon attack?"

Taker smiled back. "We all have our ups and downs. That day...was his down."

Edge nodded and stood up. "Fine, I won't tell him, but I am going to tell Chris everything you told me. He's my partner."

"I understand."

Edge left.

Taker leaned back into his chair.

"You never told me that," Vickie said as she came out of the hidden door behind the bookcase.

Taker closed his eyes.

"How come you never told me?"

"Does it matter?" he asked.

"It does to me."

"You never asked."

She stared at him. "Fair. So, how much knowledge does Mike have?"

"Enough to go toe to toe with a Society member."

"Damn."

Taker nodded.

"So, where is Kane?"

"Out."

"Excuse me?"

"He's on a mission for me. Gathering information."

"Okay." She thought a moment. "He must have took Alicia with him."

Taker opened his eyes and stared at her. He folded his hands before him thinking about all the possibilities and scenarios. One popped up causing him to grin.

Vickie smiled at him. "You know?"

"He's my brother."

They both laughed.

Elsewhere in the house, Mike had finally found Randy in the gym. Mike stared at him while he lifted weights. His arms going up and forced back down. Sweat glistened on his tanned body.

"Are you avoiding me?" Mike asked.

Randy placed the weight down, sat up, and wiped the sweat from his face.

"Are you going to talk to me?"

Randy took a drink from his water.

"Randy?"

The man turned his back to his friend. "Who is she? The girl from yesterday. Who is she?"

Mike stared at the back of his head. He thought a moment and smiled. Mike placed his hands on his hips and shook his head. "You're jealous. You're fucking jealous." Mike made his way to Randy.

"I'm not jealous."

Mike walked over to him, threw his arms over Randy's shoulders, and kissed the top of his head. Mike began to massage his shoulders. "Her name is Falend MacKane. She works for Cody and Teddy. She's their new baker."

"She came by?" Punk asked entering the gym. "Damn, I wanted to meet her. Oh well." Punk came up behind Mike and began to massage his shoulders.

"That feels good," Mike said. "So, why are you jealous of her?"

"I'm not jealous," Randy answered.

"Randy?"

Randy did not say anything.

"Randal Keith Orton, you heard the man," Punk said.

"She's cute," Randy said.

"You think she's going to steal me away?" Mike asked.

"The thought has crossed my mind," Randy responded. "I have been thinking about that lately. You would one day want to find a wife and start a family."

Mike tensed up.

"Good God, man," Punk said. "Tension knots. Relax...relax."

Mike started to loosen up. "Randy, when I'm ready, you'll be the first to know, okay?"

Randy nodded.

"You know, you could always participate in some hot and steamy four way with her," Punk suggested.

Mike made a face.

"Don't you mean three way?" Randy asked.

"No...four way," Punk replied as he slipped around Mike. He got into Randy's gym shorts so quick that neither Mike nor Randy could react. He began to suckle Randy's member causing him to moan. Soon, the man became hard in Punk's mouth.

"Now, that's hot," Mike said. He turned Randy's head slightly to kiss him.

Randy ran his hand through Punk's hair urging him to go down further while Mike's and his tongue fought for dominance.

Jack and Alex walked in and stopped short.

"This...this is our gym," Jack stammered. "Yeah...it's...um...it's also our sex room...apparently."

The three paid no heed to the two newcomers.

"Um...remind me never to work out on that bench," Jack said.

"You could always disinfect it," Alex suggested watching the scene with interest.

"I could...I could. I think I'm going to go watch some...lesbian porn."

"There's like porn right here," Alex said. "It's going on right now."

"It's not the same."

Alex stared at the taller man. "Just so you know, I find your lisp kind of cute." With that, he walked out.

Jack stood with a confused look on his face.

Punk looked over and smiled. "Dude, you just got hit on by the newbie."

Randy forced Punk's head back down.

Jack thought about it for a moment.

"That's a good thing," Mike said. He had to get some air after that battle of tongues.

"Oh God!" Randy moaned. He bit Mike's neck causing him to moan.

Jack smiled and said, "I guess you're right."

…

Kane and Alicia spent most of their wait time shopping. She would try on things and he would either approve or disapprove. She smiled at him and tugged on his arm to pull him this way and that. People watched in awe of this strange couple. He was 7 feet tall and she was about 5'10''. Though some could not believe that an older white man was with a young black woman. Either way, the two did not care. They were in their own little happy place. Kane had brought her several things and she had bought several lingerie without him noticing.

"I'm going to take these to the car," he said looking down at the eight bags, trying to figure out how they multiplied since he bought most of the stuff.

"I'll go with you," she said.

Kane shook his head. "I got it. You continue to have fun. I'll be right back."  
"Okay."

Kane walked away.

Alicia went into a store and looked over the dresses. She crinkled her noses and went to the shoes.

"May I help you?" a sales associate asked.

"Yes," Alicia said. "I need some shoes to match this." She showed the lady a picture on her phone.

The associate nodded and smiled. "I think I might have a pair." She pulled out some heels for Alicia to try.

The young woman imagined herself in her outfit with the heels. She smiled and said, "I'll take them."

"Going to surprise someone special?" the associate asked.

Alicia nodded. "I'm hoping he'll get the hint."

"With that lingerie and these heels..." The associate rang her up. "That'll be $106. 97."

Alicia pulled out cash, got her change, and went to wait for Kane. She sat on a bench watching the people window shop, munch on snacks, or power walked.

"Well, hey, sweet thang," a man greeted. He was flanked by two others.

Alicia looked up at him. "Hi."

"What's a pretty little thang like you sittin' here by yaself?"

"I'm waiting for someone," she answered. "And I'm not a 'thang',"

"Of course ya ain't, baby."

They began to crowd her.

"Listen, I don't want any trouble," Alicia said.

The man grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her towards him. "If ya don't cause trouble, they ain't goin' be no trouble."

"If I were you, I'll let her go," Kane said.

"Who are you?" the man asked as he turned to look up at the man.

"Her...boyfriend," Kane answered.

The man left Alicia go. "My bad, my bad. No disrespect."

The three quickly left.

Alicia smiled at Kane.

"Are you okay?" Kane asked.

She nodded.

"Why didn't you wait in the store?"

"Because I'm finished shopping and want to go to lunch," she replied.

Kane smiled. "Where would you like to go?"

"I'm feeling Indian." She tugged on his arm and he followed.

…

"So, how does this work?" Chris asked.

"Well, we go in, assess the situation, help those who need help, and exorcise the rest," John replied.

"That's it," Drew replied. "No fuss, no muss."

They wore the black SWAT style outfits. Each were armed with rosaries and a small Bible, two guns on their sides, and a sword.

John pulled to a stop in front of a house and looked around. "Holy shit!"

Drew and Chris scanned the area as well.

"How many did you see?" Chris asked.

"Estimate...about fifty," John said.

"Really?" Chris said. "I thought I was seeing about thirty."

"Emily, how many are there?" Drew asked.

Chris looked at him.

"Emily is Drew's spirit guide. We can't see her," John replied.

Chris nodded.

"Um..." Drew began.

"I don't like it when you begin a sentence with 'um'," John said. "Just tell us."

"Emily said that there's about sixty-eight ghosts," Drew replied.

Chris and John nodded. They whispered, "Shit!"

"And they're fucking pissed," Drew said.

"Do any of them need help?" John questioned.

Drew shook his head. "Luckily, they have yet to spot us."

The vehicle began to shake.

"Too late!" John exclaimed as the car's front end lifted up.

…

Mike lay in bed between Punk and Randy. The two had fun with each and Mike had fun watching them. He was glad that Randy was opening up to Punk. He did not want friction between any of them. Mike loved and cared for them both. He scooted up to lean against the headboard. He turned his head and spotted the bag of cookies. He reached over Punk and grabbed it.

"Are those cookies?" Punk mumbled.

"M-maybe," Mike replied.

"What kind?"

"Not sure." He looked into the bag. "I got them last night."

Mike handed one to Punk.

Randy rubbed his eyes. "Afternoon delight."

Mike laughed. "Cookie?"

"Sure," he mumbled and took one. "Wow, this is good."

"I know," Punk said. "I think she puts crack them."

"She makes them with love," Mike replied.

"Same thing," Punk said.

Randy stared at Punk. "Why are you in Mike's bed?"

"Why are you?"

Randy blushed. "I can be here if I want."

"So can I."

Randy glared at him.

"I would have thought since I sucked your dick and let you top me, you would be nicer to me."

"Just because I let you touch me doesn't mean I'm going to be nicer to you."

"Really?" Punk stared at him. "You're so mean."

"Oh, fuck you."

"You already did."

The two argued. Mike shifted his eyes from one man to the other. He just sat eating his cookie as he shook his head. _Why can't I have normal lovers?_

…

It was getting closer to dinner when Kane and Alicia headed back the the Occult shop. They had spent much of their time talking during lunch and found out more about one another. Each felt foolish when they realized that they had feelings for one another. They decided not to waste a moment.

"Today was a good day," Alicia said.

"It was," Kane agreed.

"Why are you gathering information again?"

"It's for my brother."

She nodded as he held the door open for her.

Ted looked up at them. "Hey, hey."

"Evening, Ted," Kane greeted.

"Hi," Alicia greeted.

"What can I help you with?" Ted asked.

"Is Falend here?" Kane asked.

"She just left like thirty minutes ago," Ted answered. "She made a fresh batch of cookies and created a 'Caramel Peanut Butter Cookie'."

"Caramel Peanut Butter Cookie?" Alicia asked.

Ted nodded and handed her one. She looked at the plain looking cooking and took a bit. Gooey caramel was placed in the center of the cookie.

"Wow," Alicia said. "Here, try."

Kane took a bit. Ted watched their interaction and smiled.

"That is really good," Kane admitted. "Do you know when she'll be back in?"

"Tomorrow morning," Ted said. He came from around the cashwrap. "Let me be the first to congratulate you two." He hugged them both.

"How did you know?" Alicia asked dumbfounded.

"Really? An idiot could see that you two had the hots for each other but were too damned chicken shitted to do anything about it," Ted replied. "But today was different."

"Can I get some more of those?" Kane asked.

"How many?"

"I know that Mike would love to try one," Kane thought. "Go ahead and give me a dozen."

"That'll be $7.52 and I'm giving you a cheesecake for free."

"Don't worry about the cheesecake," Kane said.

"No, no. Falend made it yesterday. She calls it 'Chocolate Coffee Cheesecake'. Tell me what you think of it. If it's good, we'll add it to our menu."

Kane nodded, paid him, and took the bag of cookies while Alicia took the cheesecake. They both went back to the Hummer and found a safe spot in the back. He helped her into the vehicle as his phone vibrated.

He looked at it. "Drew."

"We...need...backup," Drew said. "Goddamnit!"

"Drew, where are you?"

The line went dead.

"Drew?" He looked to Alicia. "Call Taker and ask him where he sent the Spiritualists."

She did so as he drive off. Her mind went to the three men.

John was thrown into a wall. He slowly stood, wobbling on his feet. He had gotten separated from Drew and Chris which was a bad thing. He knew that he must get back to them. Before he could move, John was flung through a door. He landed with a load thud.

"God!" he groaned.

Drew stood his own but was losing power by the second. He ran out of potions and had nothing but his spirit guide to aide him. Chris was a crumbled heap behind him. Soon, Drew fell to one knee.

"Emily," he whispered.

John managed to get back up and ran to where his comrades were. Scratches appeared over his back, but that did not stop him. He was soon flung into a tree. He spat up blood and stumbled before falling over. Something grabbed his hair and pulled him around the yard. He was lifted into the air and was slammed down into the ground. He rolled over and tried to crawl away. A trashcan landed on him over and over again until his passed out.

Drew was thrown out of the house while Chris was dragged out. They landed beside John. Drew was lifted up and was slammed down like John was. Unfortunately, Drew was shown no mercy. He was slammed down three more times. He stared up at the sky coughing up blood, not feeling anything. He was able to turn his head and made out a figure before passing out.

Several hours went by before Drew woke with a start in his room.

"John!" he called. "Johnny!"

Vickie came in. "Hush, hush, hush."

"Where's Johnny?" he asked trying to get out off bed.

"He's in his room," she replied stopping him.

"How the fuck did I get back here?"

"Kane and Alicia rescued you."

"What about the person? I saw a person."

Vickie shook her head.

Taker entered the room. "What happened?"

Drew looked up at his boss. His eyes were frantic as he tried to remember. "There...there were sixty-eight of them...and they were fucking pissed. The ghosts...they attacked us. John got separated and Chris was knocked out. I-I-I tried to protect him. I was able to make a call...before being thrown about like a goddamn rag doll!"

"Calm yourself," Vickie urged.

"Before I passed out, there was a person. I'm not sure if the ghosts got them as well," Drew said.

"There was no one else there but the three of you," Taker explained.

"There had to be," Drew insisted. "I couldn't have imagined it."

"He needs his rest," Vickie stated.

Taker nodded and she placed two fingers on his temple. Soon, he calmed and slept. Taker and Vickie walked out of his room. They made their way to his office where Kane and Alicia waited.

"What happened?" Taker asked them.

"When we got there, they were already on the ground laying side by side," Kane replied.

Alicia nodded.

"Did you get any readings?" Vickie asked her.

"No, I was too worried about the boys that I didn't think to," Alicia said.

Vickie looked to Taker. "We need to find the fucker that's messing with the goddamned Leylines."

"I'm well aware of that but how?" Taker asked. "You know as well as me that extremely powerful magic users and psychics can hide their tracks."

Vickie huffed as she folded her arms over her chest. "We nearly lost them. I want to know what happened."

Taker nodded. "Take Mike with you. He knows just as much about the spirit world as Drew and John."

Vickie nodded and left.

"Alicia, go with her," Kane said.

She nodded and went after the older magic user.

Kane looked at Taker. "In my opinion, someone had to help them. The way that they were laying side by side was like someone did it out of care."

"I trust your opinions," Taker said. "What about this girl?"

"I don't know," Kane replied. "Her name is Falend MacKane, between twenty-five and thirty."

"Do you think it's her?"

"I would have to meet her, talk to her, or get a hold of a personal possession to know for sure. If it's not her, we continue our search," Kane stated. "But if it is her..."

Taker growled and the whites of his eyes appeared once more.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything dealing with WWE or any song lyrics that is used as a muse. I also do not own the rights to any products or persons mentioned in the story as well.  
**

**Warning: There is harsh language and adult themes as well as Slash between some of the characters (mostly M/M).**

**Chapter Seven**

Mike drove up to the location where the Spiritualists were sent to. Most of the houses in the area were in need of repair. Only a few had been renovated in an effect to revitalize the area. Mike looked up at the two story house he parked in front of. The paint was chipping and the shutters hung from one their hinges. The yard was in need of a cut and trim. There were signs that the three men had been thrown through the shelter and out of it.

"This is the place," Mike replied as he climbed out of the car.

Alex, Vickie, and Alicia followed and stood next to him.

"What do we do?" Alex asked.

"Nothing," Mike said. "We can't see them nor talk to them. It's up to those two to see if they can get a reading."

Alex nodded. "What if the ghosts are still here?"

"That's why we have these," Mike pulled out a vial filled with a black liquid from a bag. "If you get attacked, you threw it down onto the ground." Mike gave him a bag. "Be careful and mindful, we each have just five vials. Once the liquid gets into contact with the air, it causes some sort of electrical current that brings the ghost into sight. You can then attack the ghost with the weapons that Show gave us. The blades on the knives have been coated with salt. The bullets and buckshot have been embedded with salt as well."

"Why salt?"

"Salt is considered pure by many. If the ghosts are aimed at hurting us, we can hurt them back. It won't purify them nor destroy them. They will be stunned and think twice about attacking again."

"How do you know that?"

"Salt has been important to people for many centuries. It has been used as currency, used in cooking, for religious purposes, purification spells, etc."

Alex smirked. "I thought you were just making it up...that you might have heard it from a show or something."

Mike chuckled. "In Christian demonology, salt is used as a talisman against evil, defensive magic, dispel enchantments, and other spells. Demons and devils hate salt as well because they can get hurt by it."

"Really?"

"Only a few. You can encase an area with salt so no evil may cross. Quick way is to place a line on the thresholds of doorways and on window sills. During the times of old, people would circle their homes with salt."

Alex looked at him. "Now?"

"Only those who believe in the supernatural world like we do still practice this simple ritual."

The men stayed closed to the women as they worked.

"There is another type of salt know as Black Salt. It can be used for evil purposes or drive away evil," Mike continued.

"What's Black Salt?" Alex asked.

"It's a mixture of salt and the ashes of the dead. Some mix salt with charcoal or black pepper or scraping from an iron pot," Mike continued. "I have heard that some would just dye the salt black."

"Are they effective?" Alex asked.

"They work, but the most powerful is the mixture with the ashes of the dead."

Alex nodded.

"Did you know the world 'occult' comes from the Latin word 'occulere'?"

"No."

"It means to hide or conceal."

Alex stared at him. "Are you trying to make chit-chat?"

Mike nodded. "Did you know that there's an old ritual, I believe from the British Isles, to promote good luck in a newly built home, you would sacrifice a cat and place its body into the walls?"

"That's creepy."

While the men talked and kept an eye out, the woman scanned the area with their hands before them. They moved from one spot to another as they muttered to themselves. They saw the men being attacked, being thrown about, dragged, slammed down to the ground...they could feel their pain., hear their screams, groans, and curses of anguish.

"Another person was here," Alicia stated as she stood close to the location.

Vickie came up to her and held out her hands. "She's right."

Mike and Alex went to them at the ready.

"I can't see them," Alicia said.

Vickie shook her head. "Damn."

"What?" Mike questioned.

"This person's good...very powerful," Vickie stated. "He...she...it took out all of the ghosts."

"The person placed them side by side and healed the Spiritualists to the best of their ability," Alicia added.

"Gender...age...anything?" Alex asked.

Both women shook their heads.

"How about height?" he asked. "Can you give us that?"

"This person is shorter than the both of us," Alicia said.

"You think it might be a woman?" Mike questioned.

"I know men who are shorter than the both of us," Vickie stated.

Alicia thought a second before nodding. "What are we going to do?"

"Just report back," replied Vickie.

They began to walk back to the car. Mike stopped short gripping his chest. He doubled over, gritting his teeth in pain. He fell to the ground and curled up into a fetal position.

"Mike!" Alex went to him and cradled his head.

"It hurts," whispered Mike.

Alicia and Vickie came to his side.

Alex looked up at them. "He's very hot."

Vickie placed her hand over his forehead. "He's burning up."

"It feels...like...I'm on fire," replied Mike.

"We need to get him back," stated Vickie, "and quickly."

Alex nodded and lifted Mike into his arms.

…

There was knock at Jericho's door. He turned his head slightly. "It's open."

Edge slipped in. He stared at his friend, trying to decide on what to say.

Chris blinked at him. "You're just going to stand there?"

Edge chuckled and walked over to his ailing friend. He sat on the edge of the bed and stroked Chris's cheek. The older man smiled and nuzzled into the gentle touch. No words passed between them. They've been together for so long that they knew how each other felt. Edge: sorry because he was unable to protect the one thing that he loved. Chris: disappointed that his first mission did not go so well.

"I hate what you've become," stated Edge.

"I hate that you're not happy for my promotion," Chris replied.

Edge ran his hand through his shoulder length blond hair. "How can I be happy? I lost my partner."

"You didn't lose me."

"Well, I almost did. Vampires are so much easier to deal with. At least they're tangible."

Chris propped himself on his right elbow. "Someone has to deal with the things that are unseen. Drew and John go out every time they are needed. They risk their lives just like everyone else here. I'm proud to be with them. Yeah, fighting vamps is much easier because you can see them and touch them. It takes a special kind of person to deal with the spirit world."

Edge nodded. "You're special to me too."

"That's good. Now, be happy for me."

"I'll try...I don't have to like it, but I'll try."

Chris leaned over and kissed his shoulder.

"About Mike..."

"What about him?"

"I found out what happened to him...five years ago. Undertaker told me."

Chris stared at him and listened.

Punk stood outside Chris's room. He wanted to check in on him but heard Edge and Chris talking. Punk did not move until the story was finished. The Dampyr slowly backed away from the door and went looking for Randy. He searched each room and the gym. He ran his hand through his hair. _Think, Punk, think!_

Punk pulled out his cellphone. :Where are u?:

:Why?:

:I need 2 talk 2 u:

:Why?:

Punk shook his head. :It's abt Miz & what happened 5yrs ago.:

:On my way home.:

Punk waited at the top of the stairs watching the door.

"What are you doing?" Jack asked.

"Waiting," said Punk.

"For?"

"Randy."

The gentle giant stared down at him. "Are you high?"

Punk shook his head. "You know I don't drink or do drugs."

"True," Jack said with a nod. "If I see him, I'll let him know that you're looking for him."

"Thanks," replied Punk.

Jack walked down the stairs. He took one last look before entering the kitchen.

Five minutes later, Randy came through the front door with some bags. Punk stood up and rubbed the back of his pants. Randy went to the kitchen and placed the bags down. He looked to Jack who was cooking.

"Could you put this up for me?" Randy asked. "Thanks."

Jack stared after him while he walked out. "Did he just ask politely?"

Randy ran up the stairs and pulled Punk to his room. He threw the man in and closed the door. Punk stumbled and landed on his bed.

"Talk," ordered Randy.

Punk waved him over and Randy got within a few feet of him. Punk grabbed his wrist and pulled him down. He whispered into his ear to make sure what he told him stayed between them. Randy slowly breathed while he heard of Mike's tale.

When Punk finished, he turned to the Dampyr. "Are you sure?"

"I heard Edge telling Chris. Apparently, he got the information from Undertaker," answered Punk.

Randy wiped his mouth and looked around his room. He stood up and began to pace.

Punk just watched him.

The voices rang through Randy's head. He could not understand them. They talked a mile a minute trying to decide if what Punk told him was true, what they could do to protect Mike, what had to be done about the demons. It was too much for Randy. He fell to his knees and started to scream. Punk was by his side and held him in his arms. People came running. Jeff and Matt entered.

"What the fuck happened?" Matt asked.

"He just started screaming," Punk said.

Jeff stared at his stricken comrade. He moved his eyes to Punk. "Do it."

Jack stood in the doorway and Edge pushed his way in to see what was going on.

"Do it," Jeff repeated.

Punk stared at Jeff and nodded. He sunk his fangs into the man's neck and drank. Randy stopped screaming as his eyes glazed over with pleasure and ecstasy. He closed his eyes and slept.

Punk pulled away and looked back at Jeff.

Matt knelt down and grabbed Randy underneath his armpits. Jack helped him by grabbing Randy's legs. Both men carried Randy to his bed and laid him there.

Taker came to the door. "What happened?"

"He just starting screaming," Punk answered. "I had to..."

Taker nodded. "Let him rest then."

Everyone left except for Punk and Taker.

"Don't worry about him" Taker said. "Leave him be."

Punk nodded and stood up. He went to Randy and took off his shoes. He kissed his lover on the forehead and whispered, "I'm sorry."

…

Cody sat in Falend's living room watching her make tea. "Are you sure you don't want me to help?"

"I got it," the young woman replied.

"I can't thank you enough for what you do."

"Hey, it's my job." She came out with a tray. She poured him a cup and asked, "Do you like honey with your tea or sugar?"

"Sugar," answered Cody. "I'm a Georgia boy."

"You were born in the South?"

Cody nodded as he mixed his drink. "Hell yeah. Southern boy, born and raised."

"War-town or Mac-town?"

Cody stared at her. "Excuse me?"

"You're you born in Warner Robins or Macon?"

"Oh, hell no!" He laughed.

"Atlanta? Savannah? Columbus?" she probed.

"A metro of Atlanta."

She nodded. The storm was still behind her eyes. "What did I do to have you grace my little apartment?"

Cody smiled as he blew on his tea. "Nothing."

Falend stood up and went to the kitchen when a timer rang. She pulled out a batch of cookies and set them on a wire rack to cool down.

"What are you making?" asked Cody.

"Just Chocolate Chip Cookies."

"Your baking is the greatest."

She chuckled.

"Do you have family in Georgia?"

"Yup...Hawkinsville."

Cody made a face. "Man, you're going deep South."

"Not that deep." Falend took her seat again. She stared at him. She sensed something was troubling the young man but did not pry.

"Um...I have to know," began Cody, "what did you do to cause people to look for you or ask questions about you?"

"I'm new in town...so nothing"

Cody nodded and smiled. "So, how do you like our city?"

"It's a city." She sipped her tea. "So...what's going on?"

Cody bit his lower lip. "Uh...a friend of Mike's came in today. He's a friend of mine as well...um, he came looking for you."

Falend nodded.

"I don't know why, but he was asking about you. I didn't tell him anything, I mean, I really don't know anything about you."

Falend placed her cup down. "What does he look like? This friend."

"Tall guy...like a giant."

"With bi-colored eyes?"

Cody nodded.

"What was he asking?"

"Your name, where you came from..."

"The usual stuff that beat cops ask."

"Yeah," replied Cody.

"Why are you telling me this?"

"To be honest...I really don't know. Well, I like you."

Falend raised an eyebrow.

"Not in that way. God, Teddy would kill us both."

"Right."

"You're the first employee in a long time that we've had that shared the same interests as me...and Teddy," explained Cody. "You go above and beyond trying to help make the business a better one and I'm so glad about that. You don't just come in thinking that this is just a job. You come in thinking that this is what you want to do."

Falend listened to him talk.

"You know a lot about the Occult. You're not a dabbler like most that come in. What do you think about magic?"

"Magic, the card game? The magic of like Harry Houdini, David Blaine, and Criss Angel or the magic of Merlin, Mug Ruith, and Bodhall?"

Cody stared at her. "What?"

"Are you talking about the card game, illusions and the slight of hand, or using the forces of nature to do your bidding?"

"Well, I've never had a person retort like that...um..."

Falend smirked.

'I come from money. I come from class. These ladies love me, for all my cash,' rang in Cody's pants.

Falend just stared at him.

"Sorry, that's Teddy," Cody explained.

She made a face.

"Hi, honey. I'm with Falend. We're drinking tea. What? What?"

…

Alex carried Mike to his room. He could feel the heat coming from his body and it caused Alex's clothes to burn. The older man suppressed his groans of pain by clenching his teeth. He laid Mike down on his bed and the older man quickly turned over to bite down on the mattress.

Vickie came behind him. "We need to fill the bathtub with cold water to cool him down."

Alex nodded and started the water. Jeff and Matt looked in.

"What the hell?" Matt asked.

Jeff shrugged his shoulders. Yoshi came up and pushed his way in.

"Chill the water down," Vickie commanded.

Yoshi nodded and went into the bathroom. Alex knelt down beside the tub.

"I need you to move," said Yoshi.

Alex did so and Yoshi could see that his shirt had melted a bit.

"You might want to take that off."

Alex looked down and did so. Yoshi moved to the tub and placed his hands into the water and it began to crystallize. Alex examined his chest.

"Alex," called Vickie.

He went to her.

"Put him in the tub."

He lifted Mike into his arms. His skin began to burn from the touch of the older man. He gritted his teeth and raced to the bathroom. He gently lowered Mike into the water, but as soon as the liquid touched his skin, the water began to sizzle and steam. Mike began to scream and thrash about because of how cold the water was.

"God!" he screamed. "No!" Mike tried to climb out of the tub.

"Keep him there," commanded Vickie. "We have to cool him down."

Alex used all of his strength to keep Mike in the water. Yoshi could not touch him or he would freeze a limb or any other area of the blonde's body. Mike fought and thrashed so much that Alex had to climb into the cold water. He slipped behind Mike, circled his arms around to trap Mike's arms, and wrapped his legs around Mike's legs. It was a blessing that Mike was hot to keep Alex warm in the cold water. Soon, Mike stopped fighting and Alex was able to climb out of the water. His chest and arms were red and started to blister. Yoshi still had his hands in the water as he watched the newbie.

Alex walked to the bathroom door and leaned his back against the frame. Alicia came to him and examined the burns. She ran her hands over his chest and arms, soothing the pain he was in.

"Thank you," said Alex.

"Not a problem." She went to check on her teammate.

Taker and Kane came in and looked to Alex and Vickie.

"I don't know what happened," she said. "One minute he was fine and the next..."

Alex said, "It felt like he was on fire."

Punk slipped by and watched. Alicia and Yoshi came out of the bathroom.

"His temperature dropped," replied Alicia.

Vickie nodded. "You can take him out now."

Alex went back in and Punk followed.

"Debriefing...now," said Taker.

Vickie and Alicia followed while Alex and Punk took Mike out of the cold water. Punk stripped Mike out of all his clothes including his boxers and Alex wrapped him in a towel. He carried him to back to his bed and laid him down.

"I have to go debrief," Alex stated and left.

Jeff and Matt stared at Punk, who just sat down on the floor at the foot of the bed.

"You going to be okay?" Matt asked.

Punk nodded.

"If you need anything..." began Jeff.

"I know," said Punk.

The brothers left. Yoshi patted Punk on the shoulder and went on his way. He hit the last step of the stairs when the doorbell rang. He answered it.

"Hi, Cody, Teddy," Yoshi greeted. He looked at Falend. "And new person."

Teddy looked annoyed, Cody looked scared, and Falend was Falend.

"How's Mike?" Cody asked.

"In his bed...with the flu," the Japanese man replied.

Ted backed, "I heard he had a high fever."

"He did."

"May we see him?" questioned Cody.

Yoshi looked up toward the stairs. "I think..."

Cody rushed by him. Teddy shook his head and followed.

"Konnichiwa," Falend said as she passed him, following after the two.

Yoshi stared after them. He looked around. "Oh, shit!"

Cody ran to Mike's room and burst through the doors. Mike's eyes were half-closed and Punk snapped his head up at them.

"Hey, Mikey," Cody greeted as he went to his sick friend.

"Cody," Mike whispered.

Ted stood in the doorway.

Cody held Mike's hand. "What happened?"

Falend peaked in and Mike noticed her. Punk stood when he saw her. His eyes moved to Ted, who gave a slight shake of his head.

"I got sick, dude. The fever hit really bad," explained Mike.

"I brought someone here to see you," Cody said. "Falend."

She entered and waved.

"Hi," Mike said with a smile. "I was...hoping...the next time...we met...would be over...dinner." He fell asleep.

Falend shifted her weight.

"Cody, could we talk?" Punk asked.

"Sure," he answered. "Falend, could you watch over him?"

She nodded as the three men left the room. She folded her arms over her chest as the storm raged.

Punk led them down the hallway so she couldn't hear them. "What the fuck, Cody? What the fuck?"

"That's what I want to know," agreed Ted. "Why did you bring her along?"

"Because she's a friend," Cody answered.

"Friend, my dick-hole," stated Punk. "I don't even fucking know her. Why the fuck would you bring her here...at a time like this?"

"I was with her and I didn't want to just leave her," Cody said.

"You were at her home," replied Ted. "She would have been safe."

"She's my friend," Cody stated once more. "Mike likes her as well."

"Like?" Punk mocked. "He likes her cookies. That's what he likes."

Jeff stuck his head out of his room and watched them arguing. "Guys?"

"Don't worry about it, Jeff," said Cody.

"No," said Punk. "He brought some chick here."

"What?" asked Jeff stepping fully out of his room.

"He brought our baker here," replied Ted.

"Why the fuck would you do that?" questioned Jeff.

Little did they know, Falend heard everything. She laughed quietly to herself as she ran her hands through her black and white hair. The black woman looked to Mike and sighed. She walked over to him and placed her hand over his chest. She could feel his heartbeat and the rise and fall of his chest.

"Randy," he called. "Punk..."

She backed off and left the room. She glanced at the men and shook her head. "Anyone named Randy or Punk?"

The men looked at her and Punk stepped forward.

"He'd called for you," she stated. "I guess...you're Punk."

Punk nodded and came jogging back. "Thanks," he muttered and entered the room.

"I'm going to go," Falend said. "I'm not really needed here."

The other men nodded.

"I'll walk you out," Cody said.

He escorted her down the stairs and out the door. Kane stopped when he saw her leave. He went to the door and watched.

"I'm sorry," Cody apologized. "I didn't know he would be that sick."

"They should take him to the hospital," she said.

"They should, but Mike hates hospitals. He always said that if he was going to die, then he would rather die at home with his friends and family by his side."

Falend nodded. "I'll see you at work."

Cody waved her off. He turned back and met the glare of Kane.

"Come here," ordered Kane.

Cody hung his head and followed him to Undertaker's office.

"Sit," Kane ordered.

Taker looked from his brother and to the young man.

"Why did you bring her here?" Kane asked.

"Who?" Taker questioned.

"Falend," Cody quietly said.

"What?" Taker stood quickly, placing his hands on his desk.

Cody flinched.

"Why did you bring her here? At a time like this, why?" Taker questioned. "Have you no sense?"

"Falend is a friend of mine and I thought it would make Mike happy to see her," he said. "He likes her."

Taker and Kane looked at each other.

"Who is she?" questioned Kane.

"She's our baker," Cody replied. "She has family in Hawkensville, GA. She has Occult knowledge but no knowledge of the supernatural world. She's twenty-eight and single."

"Is that all?" Taker asked.

Truth be told that was all he knew so Cody nodded.

"Go sit with your friend," Taker said.

"Don't you ever pull a stunt like this one again," Kane growled.

Cody scrambled to get out of there.

Taker looked to Kane. "I don't care how you do it. I want to know everything about this Falend person."

Kane nodded and left the office.

Taker sat back down and folded his hands before his mouth. He growled lowly and closed his eyes.

Cody went back to Mike's room. Jeff and Ted stood at the foot of the bed while Punk sat on the edge talking lowly to his sick lover and every once in awhile, Mike would nod or answer back.

"Is he okay? I mean, really okay?" Cody asked.

Punk nodded.

Mike looked over to him. "Hey, Cody."

"Hey, Mikey."

"Where's..." Mike swallowed.

"She had to leave," replied Cody.

Mike smiled. "I'm so...tired...and thirsty."

Jeff replied, "I got it." He left the room.

"What happened?" Mike asked.

Punk responded, "I don't know, baby. I'll have to talk to Taker."

Mike nodded. "Where's Randy?"

"Asleep."

Mike licked his lips.

"Do you want me to bring him here?"

"Let...him sleep."

Jeff came back with a glass of water. He handed it to Punk. He lifted Mike's head so he could take a sip.

Ted looked to Cody and said, "We need to go."

Punk nodded.

Ted grabbed Cody's wrist and dragged him along.

"Jeff," said Punk.

"What up?"

"Could you sit with Mike while I go and talk to Taker?"

Jeff nodded.

Punk left the room and walked the office. He could not believe that Cody brought an outsider to the house when one of their own was afflicted by some unknown force. He could not believe how irresponsible Cody was. The Dampyr ran his hand through his hair as anger boiled over. Punk got to the door and raised his hand to knock.

"Enter," Taker said.

Punk did so. "How did you know?"

"Please," breathed Taker. "I know what happened."

Punk nodded and took a seat.

"Cody..."

"I'm not here to talk about Cody," replied Punk. "What happened at the site?"

Taker stared into Punk's eyes. "From what I understand, some magic user or psychic assisted the Spiritualists at their time of need. The ghosts in the area have been...taken care of."

"How? Drew, John, and Chris were nearly killed. How can one person take care of the ghosts?"

Taker shook his head. "From what Alicia and Vickie has told me, this person wiped out the ghosts with an electrical type of magic. Then he...she...it laid the three beside each other and tended to their wounds."

"Any idea who could have done it?"

Again, Taker shook his head. "All we know is that this person is short."

"Short? That's it?"

Taker nodded.

"That could be any woman...or short man...or teenager." Punk stood up. "What are we going to do? The anniversary is almost here, the gathering is on that day, we have a rogue supernatural, we still have to deal with the Nahtiki, there was this big surge of ghosts that nearly killed three of our members...what the fuck is going on?"

"The rise in ghost sightings, the possible increase in aggressive behavior of the Nahtiki, and the dead rising again has to do with the Leylines."

"The what? Wait, did you just say the dead are rising?"

Taker nodded. "You know of the longitudinal and latitudinal lines on the map?"

"Yeah."

"Well, the Leylines are the invisible longitudinal and latitudinal lines of the earth. They can be manipulated in such a way to increase supernatural activity. Our opinion, Vickie's and mine, is that whoever is messing with the Leylines is trying to create a Hell's Gate."

"A what?"

"A gateway to hell."


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything dealing with WWE or any song lyrics that is used as a muse. I also do not own the rights to any products or persons mentioned in the story as well.  
**

**Warning: There is harsh language and adult themes as well as Slash between some of the characters (mostly M/M).**

**Chapter Eight**

Morning was a hour away when Drew limped to John's room. He did not bother to knock. He rested with his back on the closed door. The Scotsman stared down at the older man. He took John's form into his mind even though he has seen it time and time again. Each time Drew looked at John, he smiled. Drew looked to the ground and began leave.

"Come to bed," John said.

Drew stopped and replied, "I thought you were asleep."

John shook his head. "I was up for most of the night."

Drew nodded, limped over to the bed, and crawled into the blanket and sheets. "I'm glad that you're okay." He kissed John's cheek.

"I'm glad that you're still alive." John smiled as he turned his head to see Drew better. "What the hell happened?"

"We got our arses handed to us that's what."

"Tell me something I don't know," John chuckled. "How did we survive?"

"Fuck if I know," Drew said. "I haven't seen Emily to ask her."

"Is she okay?"

Drew turned his face from John, trying to hide the forming tears. He nodded. "She'll be fine."

"You sure?"

Drew said nothing.

"Drew."

"No," Drew choked out. "I don't know. I heard her scream. That's the last..."

John snaked his arm around the younger man's waist and pulled him closer. Drew cried into John's chest.

"It's okay," John reassured. "It'll be okay."

Randy blinked a few times and looked to his clock. It was forty-five minutes before the sun would break over the horizon. He sat up and cracked his neck. He took note of his clothes and wondered why he did not undress before he went to sleep. He slowly remembered what happened last night. The man ran his hand over his hair before stripping down and getting into pajama bottoms. He slipped into some house shoes and walked down to Mike's room. He quietly knocked.

"Come in," Punk said.

Randy stepped in and looked down at Punk, who was sitting on the floor at the foot of the bed.

"Morning," greeted Punk.

"Morning." Randy and sat down in front of him to look in his eyes. "Why aren't you bed?"

"Been thinking. Had a conversation with Taker last night."

"Okay."

"It seems like there's trouble ahead...a coming storm that might tear us all apart." Tears threatened to fall but did not.

"What's going on?"

"Um...you're going to have to go to the sewers and take care of the Nahtiki and check on the Nahtocoon," explained Punk. "There might be more ghostly appearances. Uh...the gathering is right around the corner."

_"Is he crying?"_

_ "What is he talking about?"_

"We have a rogue magic user...Cody being retarded," Punk continued. "Something about Leylines and a Hell's Gate."

Randy moved beside the Dampyr and took him into his arms.

"Mike's not doing so good. I think it has to do with the anniversary."

"Tell me."

"He's been afflicted with something or by something. I don't know."

Randy nodded.

"I don't know what's going on."

Edge rubbed Chris's back while he slept. He smiled down at the older man's face that still looked so young. Edge leaned his head back and sighed. He had almost lost his friend and lover. He had almost lost everything. He did not want to go through that pain again. He did not want to lay awake at night worrying. He did not want Chris to go out and tackle ghosts. He wanted his partner back by his side. He wanted...he just did not want Chris to be apart from him.

Kane was propped up on his left elbow as he stared down at a sleeping Alicia. He smiled as she crinkled her nose and turned towards him. She blinked and smiled.

"Why are you up so early?" she asked.

"Just because," he said as he pushed her hair out of her face.

She reached up and gently caressed his face. "You have to do something...for Undertaker."

Kane nodded.

"How long will you be gone?"

"It depends." He rolled over and sat up.

She got up and threw her arms around his neck. She kissed the top of his head. Kane rubbed his knees. He did not want to leave, but he had to. He needed to find out if Falend was her...the woman from their past.

"Do you wanna shower together?" Alicia asked.

Kane gave his sinister smile, held her arms, stood up. She let out a squeal and wrapped her legs around him as best she could. It only took him a few strides to get to the bathroom.

Jeff and Matt practiced with each other. They moved as one and struck as one unit. They threw their daggers, each hitting their targets. They had a lot on their minds: the demon hunt, the anniversary, the vampire gathering, Mike being sick, and the near deaths of their comrades. The brothers did not speak but knew what each was thinking. Matt had heard from Jeff about Cody and his stunt. He was not happy. Jeff mulled over the stupidity of the young man. Either way, they decided that they needed to stay focused on what would and could happen next.

**Poppin bottles in the ice, like a blizzard**

**When we drink we do it right getting slizzard**

**Sippin sizzurp in my ride, in my ride, like Three 6**

**Now I'm feelin so fly like a G6**

Alex and Jack worked out as the music blared. Both men could not sleep and had been up since yesterday. Jack looked on as Alex did bicep curls. He mainly stared at the Celtic cross tattoo on his back. He watched as the sweat rolled the man's back. Jack shook his head and went to the leg press machines.

Alex inwardly smiled as he watched the year younger man in the mirrors. "How long have you been with The Hunters?"

"Two years," Jack answered.

Alex nodded and stopped his workout. "You like it?"

"Yeah...I guess. I mean, we all have stories to share about how and why we are here."

Alex took a big gulp from his water as he walked over to Jack. "Why are you here?"

"Vampires killed my college mates while on a trip to the Chickasaw National Recreation Area," Jack replied. "I was the only one to survive."

"Sorry to hear that."

Jack stopped working out and looked up at him. "It's okay. Mike and Edge came to my rescue. At least I was able to take out two of the vamps."

Alex nodded.

"I've been here every since. Learning about vampires and how to kill them properly."

"The learning part must be boring."

Jack shook his head. "Study with Mike...everything is a blast."

**This was never the way I planned**

**Not my intention**

**I got so brave, drink in hand**

**Lost my discretion**

**It's not what, I'm used to**

**Just wanna try you on**

**I'm curious for you**

**Caught my attention**

Both men looked to the iPod that was hooked up to the stereo. They turned their attentions back at each other and laughed. Both men went back to their workouts. Alex watched in the mirror as the gentle giant continued with his leg presses. He shook his head and smiled as he went to work on his triceps.

Taker worked on a body for a viewing that day. It was of a young woman that committed suicide. He stared down at the jagged lines that went from wrist to the crook in the arm. The man shook his head. He took off her hospital gown and began to clean her body. He rubbed down all of the skin even between the fingers and toes with a strong disinfectant. Her body was in complete rigor mortis. He had to loosen up her body by moving her head and limbs around. He massaged the muscles to loosen up the muscles. The Deadman made sure that her mouth and eyes were properly closed. He hooked up the fluid tubes that drained the body and pumped in embalming fluid. He sighed while he waited.

Vickie searched through books, trying to find some answers. She had not slept for she was worried. They nearly lost their Spiritualists and Mike was afflicted by something. She knew that someone or something was messing with the Leylines. She throw a book against the wall and hugged herself.

Yoshi walked through the library and dusted. He pulled out a book and skimmed through it before putting it back. He looked at the books that needed to be put up. The Japanese man did not do so because he knew that Mike would have a fit if he did not get to read through them first. Yoshi shook his head. He sat at his desk and began to play some video games on his laptop.

The Big Show inventoried all the weapons in the store room. He nodded and went to make more stakes, both wooden and metal. He knew that they will be needed for the upcoming battle. He knew that emotions and tensions were running high. The large man sighed and let his mind go to Mike.

Ted and Cody were not speaking to each other. Ted had ripped Cody a new one and Cody just took it. He was tired of defending himself. He was tired of explaining why he did what he did. The shop was busy and they worked side by side not saying a word to one another. Cody put on a fake smile for the customers. Ted assisted them as quickly as possible with his equally fake smile.

Falend baked and went about doing her thing. She helped customers, made drinks, and cleaned. Her storm was loosened for the customers. She smiled broadly and was cheerful. The customers would leave huge tips for the three and Cody would wink at her. Falend just waved it off. Every so often, she would catch Ted staring at her. He would quickly look away. The black woman tried to shake it off but something nagged at her.

…

Kane spent most of the day looking into Falend MacKane. He was in their library on a computer. It was not one of those old style ugly machines that one would normally find in a library. The tower was black and small. The monitor was a 20" black flat screen. Accompanying the two was a wireless keyboard and mouse.

Kane typed and scrolled. He pulled out his cellphone. "Hey, Conner. Yeah. I need your help." He clicked onto a link. "No, it's find out some information...on a person." Kane made a face. "Yes, on a person. Stop laughing! Her name is Falend MacKane." He tilted his head back. "F-A-L-E-N-D...M-A-C-K-A-N-E." He rubbed the back of his head. "I'll leave the money in the normal spot. Thanks."

The giant grumbled.

"You need any help?" Yoshi asked.

"If I'm not tearing you away from anything."

Yoshi shook his head as he sat at another computer.

"I'm trying to find out some info on Falend MacKane."

"Who?"

"The chick that was here last night."

Yoshi nodded.

"She's Cody's and Teddy's new baker."

"That's her?" Yoshi thought. "Man, her cookies are awesome. Damn! I was such a goober in front of her."

Kane stared at him.

"Sorry."

"I've been here since seven o'clock this morning and it's now two," Kane explained. "You're worried about being a goober...?"

Yoshi shrunk in his seat and typed away. Kane went back to his own search. They sat in the library for two more hours of searching and coming up with nothing. Yoshi hit on something but was put on a wild chase. Kane had one hand covering his face when his cell rang.

"Conner...what do you have for me?" Kane stared at his screen. "Nothing...you got nothing?" He turned to look at Yoshi, who was still on the chase. "Let me guess, on a wild chase. Thanks...you'll get your money."

"Someone doesn't want Falend to be found," Yoshi stated.

"Hold on, Conner."

"I hacked through fifty firewalls and more keeps coming. Damnit, they just placed me in a wormhole."

All the computers shut down.

"Really?" Kane breathed.

"Shit!" Yoshi grimaced.

"Conner...I think you need to come over."

…

Mike slowly sat up. He stared at the back of Randy's and Punk's head and smiled. He crawled to them and kissed the back of their heads. They turned to him.

"Hey," Mike greeted.

"Hi," Punk said.

Randy nodded.

"Why are you guys sitting on the floor?" asked Mike.

"We didn't want to wake you," explained Punk.

Mike smiled broadly. "What time is it?"

Punk and Randy looked at each other.

"What?"

"You've been out for most of the night and day," Punk said.

Mike looked from one to the other.

"It's like 4:30...in the evening," Randy replied as he stood.

"Excuse me?" questioned Mike.

Randy nodded. "I was waiting for you to wake up before I left."

Mike quirked an eyebrow.

"The Hardy Boys and I are going on a demon hunt."

Mike sighed.

"Don't be like that. It has to be done. If it makes you feel any better I'm taking Jack as well...?"

Mike nodded.

"Punk will be here for you."

"Be careful."

"I will." Randy nodded to Punk and left.

Punk climbed into bed and laid beside him. "Are you hungry?"

"Yeah...I am."

Punk kissed the young man and went to grab him some dinner.

Alex was in the kitchen singing, "I alone love you...I alone tempt you...I alone love you...fear is not the end of this."

Punk stared at him as he cooked. Alex felt eyes on him and he looked to the Dampyr. Punk folded his arms over his chest.

"I'm almost done making the spaghetti sauce," Alex stated.

Punk nodded. "Good cause Mike is hungry."

"You think it's wise to let him eat something heavy?"

"He has a cast iron stomach." Punk went over and tasted the sauce. "Wow, this is good."

Drew and John, both helping each other, entered the kitchen. Punk and Alex stared at them.

"We're starving," Drew said as he helped John in a chair. He sat down beside him.

"If you would wait, I would bring you dinner in your rooms," Alex responded.

John waved him off. "Been laying around all day today. Need to stretch our legs."

Alex shook his head and checked the noodles. "Nice."

He drained them and Punk helped plate. Alex pulled out the garlic bread from the oven. Edge got Chris to a seat. Chris smiled at him and held his hand. Punk served everyone and grabbed a plate for Mike, who walked down and leaned on the door-frame.

"You should have stayed in bed," Punk scolded.

Mike pouted and moved to a chair. Edge and Chris glanced at him but said nothing. Punk placed his plate in front of him. Alex make Punk a plate as well as himself one while Punk got drinks. Alex placed the bread into a bread basket and set it on the table. Everyone waited until Alex sat down.

"This is has been a long time, but I would say grace are in order," Edge stated.

Everyone nodded and bowed their heads.

"Lord," Edge began, "thank you for the food that is before us and thank you for the friends and family that are able to join us for this meal. Thank you for all that you have provided and will provide. Please watch over those on their mission and help them make it back to us safe and sound. They have a hard task at hand...amen."

"Amen."

…

Randy, Jeff, Matt, and Jack, armed like they were the first time out, crept through the sewers in the same formation: Randy in front, Matt and Jeff in the middle, and Jack bringing up the rear. Randy made some clicking sounds as they moved. This went on for a good hour before he heard clicking responding back. He made his way to where it came from.

A creature with a horned Mohawk and clearly feminine features was clinging to a wall.

"Hello," Randy greeted as he knelt down. He pulled out a candy bar.

The creature crawled over to him. It appeared to be a teenager.

"Candy," Randy said as he opened it up.

"Candy?" it asked.

Randy nodded as it took the bar. Randy lifted up his goggles and used his flashlight to see her scales clearly, green and orange.

She ate the bar.

"Where are the other Nahtocoons?" questioned Randy.

"Here," she pointed and walked away.

Randy motioned for the others to follow. They came to a nest where four others were sleeping. The teenager went and woke the elder up. She looked at them and her eyes grew wide.

"Leave," she said.

"Why?" asked Randy.

"Trouble."

"Explain."

The elder shook her head.

_"We need to leave."_

_ "Something's wrong."_

Randy questioned, "How many of Nahtocoons?"

"Just five."

"Nahtiki?"

"Thirty."

_"We need to leave now."_

_ "Don't be foolish."_

_ "Flee!"_

Jack turned his head to listen slightly.

"What happened to the other Nahtocoons?" Randy asked.

"Eaten," she replied.

Jeff and Matt looked at each other.

"Why are you left?" Randy continued.

"Breeding."

Randy took the information and knew that if what she said was true, they would be in a fight of their lives just to get out of the sewers. "We need to move."

Jack scanned the area before moving. An arrow hit his chest. "Shit!"

Jeff and Matt turned to him and could see eight creatures coming their way.

"Come," the elder said. "Safety."

The other three that were sleeping woke to watch what was going on.

Randy and his team followed her. Jack pulled the arrow out and was glad that he wore a Kevlar vest. He turned and fired a shot. It hit the creature in the chest and it was knocked back, not moving. The elder led them to a room and Jack shut the door behind them. Randy looked around. It was a dead end.

"We fight here or we die trying," Randy said.

Jack could feel the Nahtiki beat against the door, but he kept it close with his strength. Jeff and Matt looked at each other and nodded.

…

Conner was a twenty-year-old man with shaggy black hair and brown eyes that were behind glasses. He was very thin and his clothes hung off of him. Conner looked over their systems and shook his head. "All your motherboards are fried."

"Fuck," Kane and Yoshi said.

"This person is good."

"Tell me about it," Yoshi complained. "I went through fifty firewalls and got trapped in a wormhole."

"Yeah, then the fucker fried your machines. After about thirty, I stopped."

"Understandable," Yoshi said.

"Can you get them back up and running?" Kane asked.

"Give me a day," Conner replied.

Kane nodded. "Here's your money for your troubles and you'll get paid again after you fix our equipment."

Conner took the cash and shoved it into his pocket. "Not a problem." He stood up to leave and gawked at Alicia.

She stood watching everything. "What happened?"

"We got fried," Yoshi said.

"Are all the computers down or just the one's down here?" she asked.

Yoshi stared at her. "Shit! I haven't thought about that." He hit Conner's chest. "Come on, let's go check."

Conner nodded; his mouth half-open. Yoshi grabbed his arm and dragged him along.

Alicia batted her eyes at Kane and he smirked.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Someone obviously doesn't want anyone finding any information on Falend MacKane."

"The baker?"

Kane nodded as he sat down. He began to rub his temples.

She sauntered over to him and sat in his lap. "Did you ever get to go back to the shop?"

Kane shook his head. "Been down here searching on the internet."

"Nothing?"

"Nothing."

"Poor baby." She gave him a quick peck on the lips.

He growled at her and went in for another kiss. He traced his tongue over her bottom lip causing her to moan. Once she did, he slipped his tongue into her mouth. One hand held her hip while the other went into her shirt and into her bra. He cupped her breast and slowly kneaded.

"Alicia!" Vickie called.

They quickly pulled away from each other as the older woman came in. Alicia looked to her.

"What happened to the computers?" Vickie asked.

"Got fried," Kane replied.

Vickie nodded. "I need your help, Alicia."

"With what?"

"We need to make more potions."

"Don't we have enough."

"You can never have too much," Vickie said. "Come with me."

The young woman nodded. She gave Kane a quick kiss. "We'll finish this later." She ran after the older woman.

Kane grumbled. He looked down at his stiffened member and shook his head. "I hate you, Vickie."

…

The group took off their gas masks so they could breath better for the upcoming battle. Jack's strength was giving out. He had been holding the door for going on seventeen minutes. His face was filmed with sweat and he could feel his muscles cramping up. He could not give up nor did he want to give up. His mind went to the men in the room and the friends that waited for them to return.

Randy's eyes never left the gentle giant. He knew that his strength would not hold out for much longer. Randy gripped his guns tightly. "Whenever you're ready, Jack."

Jack shook his head.

"I need you for this battle. Let the door go."

"No," Jack said with a smile. "Not yet."

Jeff and Matt took their battle stance.

"Let it go," Matt said.

"We're ready," Jeff replied.

"Holy shit!" Jack backed away from the door, gripping his shoulder.

Before anyone could ask, they smelt burnt flesh. Jeff went to Jack to see what had happened. The cloth on Jack's shoulder was smoking and had melted. Randy went to the door and felt extreme heat before he came within five feet of it. He took out a vial and threw it out the door. It froze instantly but the ice quickly melted. He looked to the three. He turned his head to the elder Nahtocoon.

"Don't," she said.

Randy went for the door and found that it was cool enough to open. He came face to face with bodies that tried to get to them.

"What happened?" Matt asked standing behind him.

Randy shook his head. Even though the bodies were still hot, he climbed over them to get out. He counted the bodies as he made his way back to the nest of Nahtocoons. Jeff, Matt, Jack, and the elder were behind.

"I counted thirteen," Randy said.

"That makes our job easier," Matt replied.

The remaining Nahtocoon huddled together against a wall.

"Who did this?" questioned Randy.

"A short person," the teenager said.

"Man or woman?" asked Matt.

"Wore all black," she said. "Head to feet. Can't see face."

Randy nodded.

"Where are the other Nahtiki?" Jeff asked.

The elder gave them the locations and they went searching. Every Nahtiki nest was destroyed and all of them dead. Randy and the men were confused.

"What could have done this?" Jeff asked. "What could have fucking done this?"

Randy shook his head.

_"This person is good."_

_ "Stronger than you."_

"There's a rogue magic user," Randy said. "I don't know if it's them or not."

"A rogue magic user," Matt repeated.

Randy nodded.

"Are you kidding me?" Jeff questioned.

"I wish I were," Randy said. "They're trying to find out who he or she or it is."

"It?" Jack said.

"Demons can use magic," Randy replied. "This...person...thing is good."

"Fucking good," Matt said.

They all agreed.

"I wouldn't mind having them on our team," Jeff said.

"Some one to go out in the field," Matt continued.

"Stronger than Vickie," Jack added.

"She'll hate that," Matt said and Jeff nodded.

"We need to report back," Randy said.

"Yes, sir," the three said.

Randy led his men out of the sewers as a pair of gold eyes stared after them. It blinked twice before disappearing.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything dealing with WWE or any song lyrics that is used as a muse. I also do not own the rights to any products or persons mentioned in the story as well.  
**

**Warning: There is harsh language and adult themes as well as Slash between some of the characters (mostly M/M).**

**Chapter Nine**

Randy and his team stood in Taker's office. The Deadman rubbed his temples after hearing their story. The Nahtiki were destroyed by fire and there were just five Nahtocoons left. The person responsible was short and no other clue given. He finally looked up at his boys.

"Thank you for your report," he said.

The men nodded.

"Just to let you know most of the computers are fried," Taker said.

"What?", "Excuse me?", or "Huh?" fell from their lips.

"Kane and Yoshi were looking into something for me," explained Taker.

The four looked at each other.

"Someone is fixing the computers right now. Dismissed."

The four left and Taker got up from his chair. He went to stand on his balcony to look at the night. His mind ran and stumbled over what was happening. The Nahtiki were dead...all of them. Only five Nahtocoons...just five. More would be coming in on both sides. The gathering and anniversary will be upon them. He had three boys out of commission. He kept another out of the loop on purpose. He did not trust the newbie. The girl, Falend, caused him to worry more and more as each day past.

_"In order to create life you must first give a sacrifice of flesh, bone, and blood," the woman said over the two bodies, her voice thick with a Creole accent. She was a young black woman, black hair in dreads, and eyes that were almost dark with desire. There was a storm raging behind them._

_ "I understand that," the man said. "Me and my wife sacrificed, begged, prayed to the Lord above for children. Still she couldn't give birth to a live baby. Isn't that sacrifice enough?"_

_ The woman rolled her head to the side and laughed. "It is...in the eyes of my gods. Did you bring the bodies of your dead children?"_

_ "All ten of them," the man answered._

_ She stared at the two bodies before her. "And you made these yourself, correct?"_

_ "My wife helped as well."_

_ The woman examined them. "No other hands touched dem?"_

_ "No."_

_ "Good...good." A sinister smiled appeared on her face. "Are you sure you wantin' to be doin' dis?"_

_ The man frantically nodded._

_ "Okay then. Place your dead around your soon to be children." The woman watched as the man did what he was told. "Good. Now, mark your new children wit your blood."_

_ The man took out a blade and cut into his hand. He smeared his blood onto the foreheads of both bodies._

_ "Now, I work," the woman said._

_ She held her hands in the air and began to sway chanting ineligibly. She soon danced around them as she drank from a large gourd and spat on both bodies. The flames from the torches became brighter as lightening flashed across the night sky. The crying of babies soon filled the air. Five babies went to one body and sank into its flesh and the other five went to the second body. Fingers began to move on the first body...as well has his legs. Soon, he popped his eyes open and turned his head to his brother, who did not move. The first looked to the woman._

_ "Don't worry, child," she said as the storm behind her eyes raged fiercely. "He'll wake on his own." She began to laugh._

Taker leaned forward onto the railing. He could not shake the memory as the roll of thunder came and soon his tears streaked down his face.

…

The day of the anniversary came. Everyone was tense and stole glances of Mike as he went about his business. Taker and Kane knew the hidden spaces of the house very well and kept watch of him there.

Mike kept to himself most of the time. He went to the library and got five books to read: two were about demons, one dealt with angels, one with Leylines, and the last with druids. He had a several blank notebooks and a pack of black ink pens. He made himself comfortable at a table and cracked open one of the books.

"Man, this is awesome," Conner mumbled to himself. He worked as quickly as possible trying to get The Hunters computer network back up. Even though he told Kane it would only take him a day, the work was more than he expected. He did not mind. The young nerd was getting paid.

Mike looked over Conner's way. "You got everything handled, buddy?"

"Yeah," Conner grunted. "I replaced all your motherboards. Now, I need to get to your central system and see the damage to that."

Mike nodded.

"Mike?" Alicia called.

"Down here," he replied.

Alicia strolled over to him and ran her fingers through his hair. "You didn't put your hair up."

Mike shook his head. "Didn't feel like it."

Conner watched them. He looked at Alicia the most. He took in her honey blond hair that was loose, her shirt that was buttoned up just enough to show off her breasts, her tight jeans that showed off her assets, and her sneakers.

"How are you feeling?" she asked staring into his blue eyes.

"Okay, I guess." He began to fidget.

"Understandable." She leaned close to him. "Hey, Cody called. You should go and see him...and the baker."

His eyes sparked with interest. "She's at work?

Alicia nodded. "Yup...and another thing. You might want to get to know her before Kane scares her away."

Mike stared at her.

"He's been looking into her background and such."

"Thanks for the heads up." He looked at his watch. "It's one o'clock. I need to get going."

Alicia nodded.

He gathered his books and other stuff. He kissed Alicia on the cheek before leaving. She smiled and skipped out of the library. Yoshi had been watching Conner during the whole scene. Conner sighed and went back to work. Yoshi shrugged his shoulders and went back to dusting.

Mike placed his things into his room and took a quick shower. He shampooed his hair and felt the mint in the product sting his scalp but in a good way. He sniffed a bottle of liquid soap and shook his head. He smiled at the Old Spice Swagger and decided to use that. When Mike was done, he stepped out of the shower and dried off. He wrapped his towel around his waist and looked in the mirror. He wiped the fogged reflector clean and stared at his face. The blond had not shaved in a few days, did so, and brushed his teeth.

Mike went to his closet and looked at what he had. _This is not a date, Mike, _he thought. He pulled out a pair of designer jeans, a white long sleeved button up shirt, a black vest, and tie. He quickly dressed and pulled on boots. He ran to the bathroom and did his hair up in a fauxhawk.

"Perfect," he breathed. _This is not a date, Mike._

He ran to Taker's office and knocked.

"Yup," the man said.

Mike peaked his head in. "Hey, I'm going out for a little while."

Taker looked up at him. "What?"

Mike opened the door fully.

"I'm going out."

Taker saw how he was dressed and nodded. "Date?"

Mike shook his head.

Taker raised an eyebrow. "Fine. Which car do you want?"

Mike licked his lips. "Can I take the Veyron out?"

Taker leaned back into his chair. He rummaged through the top drawer of his desk and pulled out a set of keys. "Be careful with it."

Mike nodded and caught the keys. "I will."

"Try not to speed."

Mike smiled. "It's so hard not to."

"Mike," Taker growled.

"Kay...Dad." Mike smirked, turned, and left.

Taker shook his head.

Kane came in and looked at his brother. He pointed his thumb out the door. "Where's he going?"

"Out," Taker said. "He's taking the Veyron."

"Aiming to impress someone?"

"If it keeps his mind off of today, I'm fine with it." Taker tapped his large finger on the edge of the desk. "When he is gone, gather the others. We have to prepare for tonight."

Kane nodded and went to make sure Mike was gone.

Jack stood outside Alex's door. He raised his hand to knock but decided not to. He turned away and bumped into the older man.

"Hey, what's up?" Alex said as he wiped his forehead with his towel.

"Um..." Jack looked up at the ceiling. He shifted his weight.

Alex looked up at the ceiling as well and laughed. "Whatcha need?"

"I...was wondering...um..."

Alex folded his arms over his chest as he smiled. Jeff opened his door and stepped out. He quickly went back in and stuck his head out. He text Matt and Matt stuck his head out of his room. Jeff nodded down the hallway and Matt looked.

"I don't normally...um..."

"You don't what?"

"Uh..." Jack scratched the back of his head.

Alex bit his tongue. He thought he knew what Jack wanted to ask but was not for sure. He decided to let the gentle giant continue.

Jack looked down at the ground. He exhaled and wiped his mouth.

Punk stepped out of his room and looked down the hall. Jeff and Matt looked to him and smiled. The Dampyr smiled back and the three continued to watch.

"You know...forget it," Jack finally said. "I...I don't know what I was thinking."

"Really?" Punk asked.

"That was anti-climatic," replied Jeff.

Jack blushed a bright shade of red.

"Grow some balls, man," Matt said.

"Yeah," Jeff agreed.

"Be a man," Punk said, "asking a man out on a date."

Alex laughed and Jack hung his head.

"?" Jack quickly and quietly asked.

Alex stared at him. "Huh?"

The three audience members stared at each other.

"What did he say?" Jeff asked.

Matt and Punk shook their heads and shrugged their shoulders. Randy left his room and stood looking at everyone.

"What you did ask him?" Matt almost shouted.

Randy smirked.

Jack felt hot and started to cool himself off. "It's getting really hot in here."

"I'm perfectly fine," Alex stated. "So what did you ask me?"

"We would like to know that as well," Matt said causing Edge, Chris, Drew, and John to come out of their rooms.

"W-would...you like...to go out...on a date with...me?" Jack asked louder.

Alex nodded, "Sure."

The men all clapped making Jack blush even deeper.

"Look at the beautiful couple," Punk said as he dabbed his eyes.

"This is so sweet," John said.

"Honey, get the camera," Chris said. "Our baby boy's growing up."

Edge took a picture with his camera phone.

"When's the wedding?" Matt asked trying to stifle a laugh.

Jack turned so red that a cooked lobster would have been jealous. Alex laughed at his nervousness. All their cellphones either went off or vibrated. All the men looked at their messages and each other.

"I'm guessing we all got the same message?" Alex offered.

"Yup," Punk said.

The men began to make their way to Taker's office. The Big Show, Kane with Alicia on his lap, and Vickie were already their when they arrived. Yoshi was the last one in. He stared at Alicia and Kane.

"As we all know, today is the anniversary," Taker began. "Right now, Mike seems to be handling it well."

"Which is a good thing," Punk whispered.

"What some of you don't know is that tonight is the gathering of the vampires," Taker continued.

Jeff and Matt cursed while everyone remained silent.

"Alex, I know that you've never encountered or heard about a gathering," Taker replied. "It happens twice a year here. Normally, only a handful tend to show up, but I have a feeling that might not be the case this time. No one knows why they gather, but they do." He looks to Edge.

"Well, our investigations show that about fifty to hundred will be here for the gathering," Edge stated.

Taker raised his eyebrow as he stared at Edge.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Jeff asked.

"Are you for real?" John questioned.

"There's no way we can handle that," Punk responded.

"This city might as well be a fucking ghost town," Matt muttered.

"We are well aware of that," Kane said.

Taker continued, "We can strike them now...or later."

Alex looked to Jack and he could see the worry in his eyes. The younger man glanced his way and feigned a smile.

Everyone went silent.

"What about Mike?" Randy asked.

Taker sighed before he could answer, Edge replied, "I don't want Mike on this one. It's better that he doesn't have to worry about the gathering and his anniversary."

Everyone nodded except Randy and Punk.

"Are you sure that's wise?" Punk questioned. "We need all the people we can get for this mission. Drew, John, and Chris are still recovering from their mission."

Taker held up his hand to stop Punk. "Kane, Show, and I will come along. Alicia will stay here and care for them."

Jeff and Matt folded their arms across their chests. _This is some serious shit if those three are coming along,_ they thought.

"I'm coming along," Chris said. "I didn't get hurt as much as John and Drew."

"I cannot take that risk," Taker replied.

"I don't care. You need all the help you can get," Chris insisted. "Besides, I can go ghost and not get hurt as much. Their blows will go right through me."

Taker turned his eyes to Edge, who merely nodded. Taker replied, "Fine. Everyone get ready. We leave here around nine and set up our locations around the docks. The gather will be in full swing around midnight...and that's when we attack." Taker looked to the new guy. "Alex, we need all able bodies on board with this," Taker stated. "I know you are with The Society and I assigned you to shadow Mike. Will you help in this endeavor?"

Without taking much thought Alex replied, "I would be glad to."

"Good. Dismissed."

The team members left Taker to be alone with his thoughts. He knew that he would lose at least half of his team, his children, but it was for a good cause. If they could take out more of the vampires, there would be less monsters to deal with in the future.

Big Show pulled out shotguns, rifles, handguns, swords, and what ever else will be needed. He filled several duffel bags with the weapons and handed the duffel bags and other weapons when requested to the team when they came to arm themselves. When the last person was armed, he took the remaining duffel bags and loaded up the van. He headed back in and made his rounds to John and Drew.

The two sat in Drew's room playing video games.

"Here you go," Show said, placing two guns down.

"What's that for?" John asked.

"Just in case the walkers decide they want to get in," Show said.

Drew and John looked at him. They slowly nodded.

"There's more ammo in the weapons room as well as some guns and swords," Show added.

"Thanks," Drew replied.

"Be careful," John added.

Show nodded and went to find Alicia.

Drew and John went back to playing video games. They did not speak with one another. Their minds were on their friends, their family and they were scared. They were hurt, both physically and emotionally.

Drew threw his controller down.

"What, sweetie?" John quietly asked.

"I can't take this," Drew replied. "I can't believe they'll be going on this mission. I can't believe we're being left behind."

"It's what Undertaker wants."

Drew shook his head. "I can't...believe that...I-I-I haven't...heard from..."

John stared at Drew and pulled him into his arms.

"W-what if...she..." Drew stammered.

"Shh, baby, shh," John shushed. "It'll be okay."

"It won't. I-I-I haven't been...without her...for this long."

John pulled the young Scotsman away to look into his eyes. He kissed his lover's forehead and held him as he cried.

"Hey," Show greeted as he pushed Kane's door open. "Just the woman I was looking for." He handed her a gun. "Just in case."

She smiled up at him. "Thank you."

Show left and went back to the weapons room to wait.

Alicia stared at the gun as she sat back down on the bed. It felt so heavy for such a small thing. The metal was warm against her skin. The young woman shook her head and placed the gun onto the nightstand.

"What's wrong?" Kane asked as he undressed.

"I don't like guns," she replied, stretching herself out on Kane's bed.

"Do you know how to use one?"

Alicia shook her head. "I know, I know. I should learn. I know how to use a sword though."

"I'm going to teach you have to use a gun."

She smiled as she took in his naked figure. She trailed her hand down between her legs. She could feel the heat of her sex through her pants. She knew that this was not the time for love making, but she could not help it. Kane might not come back from this fight and she did not want him to go.

Kane watched her for a few moments before moving the the bathroom. He could not make love to her at that moment. He needed to be on edge for the fight. He needed to stay focus. He knew that he would come back alive just like his brother. He knew that most of the vampires would be destroyed. He knew that most of the team will be killed. The bi-colored giant did not feel any relief as the hot water showered down on him. He shut his eyes and tried to clear his mind.

Jeff and Matt practiced with each other.

"You ready for this?" Matt asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Jeff replied.

"Are you nervous?"

Jeff was silent.

The older brother shook his head and threw his dagger into a zombie's head.

"Wow," Jeff breathed.

"Yeah."

"Did you think it's safe to leave the three here by themselves?"

Matt thought a moment. "They can handle a few walkers."

Jeff nodded.

"They are fighters."

Jeff stared at his older brother.

"Well, Drew and John know how to fight...they'll be fine."

Jeff sighed and went back to practicing.

Randy and Punk sat in the kitchen and ate. Punk placed his fork down, leaned back into his chair, and looked up at the ceiling. Randy placed his elbows on the table and watched him.

_"You're going to die."_

_ "Hell...all of you might."_

_ "What is little Mikey to do...when you're all dead?"_

"Scared?" Randy questioned.

"As hell," Punk whispered.

Randy slowly nodded. "Me too."

Surprised at the response, Punk looked at him.

"We all might die. Mike will be left alone."

_"Will?"_

_ "Please."_

_ "You're all going to die. He IS going to be left alone."_

The Dampyr started to chew his top lip.

"What will he do if we're all gone?"

"I don't want to think about it," Punk said.

Randy stood up, walked around, and stood behind him.

"What are you doing?" Punk asked staring up at him.

"Something nice."

Punk knitted his eyebrows in confusion as Randy kissed the Dampyr's forehead, the tip of his nose, and his lips. Punk was confused for a minute before he responded back with his tongue sliding into Randy's mouth.

Yoshi helped Conner as best he could while he got some spells together.

"Going out tonight?" Conner asked.

"Yup," Yoshi replied, flipping through a book.

"Mission?"

"Yup."

"Don't sound too thrilled?"

Yoshi shook his head. "Nope."

"What kind of mission?"

"Vamps."

Conner looked at him. "Always with them."

"Yup." Yoshi pulled out another book.

"Is everyone going?"

"Nope."

"Really?"

Yoshi nodded. "Drew, John, Alicia, and Mike aren't going."

"Really?"

"Alicia is holding down the fort."

Conner nodded. "Is Alicia seeing anyone?"

Yoshi looked up and stared at him. He thought a moment and smiled on the inside. "Not to my knowledge. I don't think she's ever looked at any of the guys in the house."

Conner smiled. "Okay."

Yoshi shook his head and went back to his research.

Alex lay is room staring up at the ceiling. Butterflies flapped about in his stomach the more he thought about the mission. He had thrown up earlier and felt the urge to do so again when a knock came.

"Come in," he said.

He could hear the door open and close. Alex lifted his head and saw Jack staring at him. He gave the gentle giant a smile.

"Nervous?" Jack asked.

Alex nodded. "I threw up like twice al—" He rolled out of bed and had his head in the toilet throwing up once more. He slapped water on his face, dried off, and went back to lay down. "Sorry."

"That's fine." Jack shoved his hands into his pockets and walked over to the bed. "Do you know how to kill a vampire?"

"Stake through the heart?"

"That's one way. Set them on fire, cut off their heads...slice them in half."

Alex nodded.

Soon, silence fell between them. Jack chewed on the corner of his bottom lip as he thought of the mission and Alex tried to push his fear away.

"Do you want to lay with me?" Alex asked as he sat up.

Jack nodded and climbed on beside him. He lay close enough to feel the warmth coming from the newbie's body. Alex brushed Jack's hand and Jack let out a sigh. Alex grinned at the younger man. They held hands as a brief rest fell over them.

Vickie sat in the magic room making potions. She counted out the vials and placed them into bags for each person. She looked at the clock and sighed. A few more hours to go.

Mike sat in the same place for hours and pretended to be interested in the book that he had picked out. He watched Falend, Cody, and Ted work their asses off. He felt sorry that they had to work so hard but was glad the shop was getting this much business. Truth be told though, he watched Falend the most. He was surprised about her knowledge on the Occult. He would listen to her talk to the customers and give her advice or recommendations. He filed away information that he did not even know.

The dirty blond looked at his watch and saw that it was eight o'clock, two more hours before the shop closed.

"You having fun?" Cody asked, walking over to him.

"Yeah," Mike lied.

"Really?"

"Really."

"Cause you've been reading the same page for like two hours."

Mike smirked.

Cody sat across from him. "Why are you here?"

"I came to see Falend."

Cody shifted so he could get a better look of her refilling the pastry case. "She's right there."

"I see that, ya ass."

Cody smiled.

"Should you be sitting here with me?"

"Dude, we just got a break."

Mike nodded.

"She's free after she stocks the case," Cody let him know as he stood.

Mike smiled and watched his friend go back to work.

Falend went to the backroom and after a few minutes, she came up front as she took off her apron. "I'm heading out, bosses."

"Thanks for all your help," Ted said.

"Thank you," Cody replied.

"Oh," Falend breathed and turned to the two. "Stop your fighting. I can feel the tension in the air."

Cody nodded and Ted shrugged his shoulder.

"Don't shrug at me. Just do it."

Ted threw his hands up in defense as Mike stood up and took three steps to her. She turned to leave. She stopped short and stared up at him. The storm was in full force.

"Hi," he greeted.

Falend nodded.

"I was wondering if you would like to join me for dinner."

She raised her right eyebrow.

"I was out and about...I don't like eating alone."

She just stared at him.

"She would love to go," Cody answered.

Falend threw a glare at him over her shoulder.

"She's like Asian food," Cody added.

"There's a nice Japanese restaurant," Mike offered.

"I would, but..." Falend began.

"She would like to take a shower first," Cody replied.

"I can wait," Mike said.

"If I don't go out with him, you're going to make my life a living hell, right?" Falend asked.

"You don't have to," Mike began but was cut off by Cody, "Yes, I will."

Falend nodded and looked to Mike. "Fine. I live down the block. Give me thirty minutes."

Mike nodded and watched as she left.

Ted glared at Cody. "Don't make my baker quit."

"I can't believe you did that Cody," Mike said.

"She won't quit," Cody said. "You were bombing like hell, Mikey."

"I wasn't doing that bad," Mike defended.

"You kinda were," Ted agreed with Cody. "I'm not happy that my baker was forced into a date by the way."

In thirty minutes, Falend came back wearing black leather pants with red tribal symbols running down the sides, a long shelved black button-up shirt, black boots, and a red tie. Mike stared at her for a long while.

Falend waved her hand in front of his face.

"Hi," Mike blurted out.

Falend nodded. "Ready?"

"Yes...yeah...ready." Mike led her out of the shop.

"Wow," Ted said.

"Wow indeed," Cody said.

"I didn't know she had clothes like that."

"Why not?"

"This is Falend."

Cody stared at him. "We've only known her for about two weeks. You can't make judgments like until you truly get to know her."

"I know enough. I think. Sometimes, she could be mean." Ted walked away.

Cody rolled his eyes and smiled.

Falend scanned the area as she listened to Mike talk about his roommates. She listened closely as he talked about Undertaker and Kane. When they got to the restaurant, Falend took one last look and her eyes locked onto gold eyes staring at them.

"What's wrong?" Mike asked.

Falend shook her head and entered while the eyes blinked twice and disappeared. Mike scanned the area, shrugged his shoulders, and followed.


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything dealing with WWE or any song lyrics that is used as a muse. I also do not own the rights to any products or persons mentioned in the story as well.  
**

**Warning: There is harsh language and adult themes as well as Slash between some of the characters (mostly M/M).**

** Chapter Ten**

Time clicked slowly away for those who waited and the Hunters did wait. They left as scheduled and set themselves up around the docks like they had planned. Jeff and Matt stayed on the roofs, Edge and Chris moved in and out of the shadows, Alex and Jack were close to the meat packing district, Kane stayed in the fish market, Randy had a knack for showing up to where help was needed, Punk decided to go and be within the fray of things, Taker slowly crept through the streets, Big Show was on another roof acting as a sniper, and Yoshi and Vickie stayed back near the vehicles for they were the last line of defense.

Drew and John watched movies and kept each other company. The two did not care what was on. The movies were just background noise. The older man held his lover and ran his fingers through the waves of dirty blond. The younger man nuzzled his head into John's chest. He slowly traced the man's abs which sent a shiver through his body. They both were worried about their friends.

Alicia sat in Kane's room wearing one of his shirts. She wanted to hold onto something of his while she waited. She loved his smell. Even though the material was too big for her, she did not mind. She felt as if his arms were wrapped around her, holding her, comforting here.

Conner still worked on the systems. He thought of Alicia and of the others. He knew that at least half would not come back alive. He did not want that to happen, but that's life. He sat up and looked at his hands. They were not Mike's hands nor Kane's hands or Randy's hands. His were hands made for building and repairing...not fighting. The young man sighed and went back to work.

Cody looked out of the window of the bedroom that he shared with Ted. He felt uneasy and hugged himself. The young man looked to Ted, who was asleep after a hard days work. Cody walked to the living room and sat on the couch. He hugged himself tighter and began to cry.

Falend and Mike walked the streets after their dinner. She was silent most of the date. Mike did all of the talking. Even if she tried to get a word in edge wise, he would just run right over her. She did not mind because she did not like to talk about herself. He talked about the new guy Alex Riley. He did not know much about him. He went on to speak about CM Punk and Randy and their issues with each other. He wanted them to just get along for once in their life. He added his input about Drew and John and how he thought they were a cute couple. They had amazing hair and often times would run their fingers through each other's mane. He spoke of Alicia and her kind heart, of Vickie and her loud mouth, and of Yoshi and his need to keep things organized. There was Jack who was the gentle giant. There was the Hardy brothers and their ninja like skills. She would just smile and nod.

Midnight came and everyone tensed up. All they were waiting for was a word from Punk. He stood with his back against a wall watching the vampires dance. He took note of how many humans were around and text the number to everyone. Punk cracked his knuckles and neck. His fangs grew longer and his nails became claws. Soon, the blood bath began. The vampires fed on the blood of the innocent. Screams filled the room but were drowned out by the loud music. Some tried to flee but to no avail. One man stood in the corner, fear plastered across his face.

Punk saw the man but shook his head. He gave the signal and Alex and Jack came through the doors. With one swing of his battle axe, Jack took out four vampires while Alex laid down suppressive fire. He knew that he would hit those not involved, but that concern was pushed to the furthermost reaches of his mind.

With a way out, some of the humans were able to get out only to be followed by the vamps. Edge and Jericho took care of them as they made their way in. To get a boost of power, Punk drained a vampire and the body turned to dust. The Dampyr's eyes were now red and the call of war ran through his veins. Punk ripped off heads and plunged his claws into the chests of vampires making his way to the middle. The vamps soon turned their focus on the intruders. The young man slowly crept along the wall to the exit.

Outside, vampires came out of the other buildings and made their way to the meat packing district to help out their brethren in need. Big Show took aim and fired. With that signal, Jeff and Matt jumped down from the rooftop and attacked with their throwing daggers before going into hand to hand combat. Taker stood and watched from a distance as Kane came to his side. Randy came of the shadows from an alleyway and attacked. Vickie and Yoshi waited.

The humans made their way out onto the streets. They scattered as fast as they could. The young man stood in the door way, too afraid to move. His eyes glazed over as he tried to comprehend what was happening around him.

Inside, Punk, Jack, Alex, Edge, and Chris made it to the middle of the room. They were surrounded by fifty vampires. The Hunters stared at them and the vampires returned the gaze. No one moved. Jack cut his eyes to Alex, who was tensed and focused. His dark blue eyes scanned the area before him. The vampires flashed their fangs and licked their lips.

Chris dove to the vampires. His hands went incorporeal as they went into two vampires' chest. He squeezed hard and they burst into flames. He quickly pulled his hands out as Edge jumped over him and plunged a metal stake into another vampire. Alex began to empty a clip before him. A vampire lunged toward Punk, who just grabbed her and sunk his fangs into her delicate neck. He fed until she was nothing but ash. Alex swung his axe and sliced through five vampires.

Jeff and Matt threw daggers and dodged attacks. Randy snapped necks and plunged his blade into undead bodies. Big Show continued to snipe even though the bullets did not stop the vampires from attacking, but it was enough to slow them down. Kane raised his hands into the air and brought them down quickly. Fire erupted from the ground. The vampires felt the heat of the blaze and looked to him. Taker raised his right hand into the air. Lightening struck him and gathered the current. He balled it up and threw the white sphere. It hit one vampire. The current spread out and struck six others. Their bodies jumped and jerked until they ashed.

Drew went to the kitchen to get something to drink. He knelt down into the fridge looking for some juice and jerked up when he heard a loud thud. He looked to the sliding glass doors and saw three zombies beating on the glass.

"Shit," he breathed.

The Scotsman closed the fridge door and slowly made his way out of the kitchen. He heard a loud crash from the front of the house and went to investigate. He saw the window had been broken and five zombies trying to get in.

"What was—," John stopped short and stared at the window. "Drew!"

Drew nodded and made his way up the steps as Alicia came to John's side. She covered her mouth to muffle a scream. Conner came up from the basement through the hidden door in the grandfather clock.

"Go back down and keep that door locked," John ordered.

Conner looked to the him and when he heard the moans and groans of the zombies he looked to them. "Shit!"

"Do as I said!" John exclaimed.

Conner retreated.

"Alicia, stay in your room and keep the door locked," John replied. "Drew and I will get more weapons and fend them off as long as we possible can. Do you have a weapon?"

She nodded.

"Do you need more ammo?" Drew asked.

She nodded again. "It's a derringer, but forget about it. Let's just go to the weapons room." She bolted down the stairs.

John handed Drew his gun and followed suit. John stared at the zombies trying to fight to get in. He took aim and fired five shots hitting their marks in the head. He moved on and heard another crash and the sounds of crunching glass. He shook his head and got to the weapons room. He stood in the doorway and watched as seven undead stumble their way to them.

"John," Drew called.

The older man nodded and closed the cage door first and locked it.

"What are you doing?" Drew asked.

"We take as many out as possible."

"That's suicide," Alicia stated. "Just close the steel door."

"No," John replied. "I want to take as many out as possible. I don't want them to come back to an army of this shit. It's at least we can do."

Drew stared at his boyfriend. He smirked at him and chuckled.

Arms reached in to grab John.

"Let's do this shit," Drew said and fired.

Falend looked up to the night sky. "I had fun," she replied.

"I did too," Mike replied as he shoved his hands nervously into his pockets.

"It was nice getting to know you, Mike," she said.

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"I tend to talk to much."

"That's fine. I don't like talking about myself."

He nodded. "So?"

Falend stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. "I'll see you around."

Mike was planted on the spot with a goofy smile on his face. Falend stared at him. She waved her hand in front of his face. She looked around and went into the building.

Punk sank his fangs into another victim and continued his killing spree: snap neck, rip off head, claw in chest, slice throat. Alex threw a vial into a group. When the glass broke, a small explosion consumed five victims. Chris threw a vial as well and sparks of electricity claimed three victims. Jack sliced and diced, hacked and sawed. He was mindful of where Alex was at all times. He wanted to make sure that the older man was safe. Edge plunged his metal stakes into vampire after vampire. Soon, the men stood among a room of ash, blood, and ripped flesh. They stared at each other and smiled.

Punk turned around and made his way back out, the call for battle still in his veins. The others followed knowing they're comrades would need their help.

Jeff and Matt were fighting back to back. They were out of throwing daggers, however, they each had a katana. They stood their ground, cutting and thrusting. Both men were haggard but did not show it. They refused to show their enemies any signs of weakness.

Kane and Taker stood back to back and stared at those who surrounded them. They both smiled and beckoned the soon-to-be dead fighters to attack.

Show let loose bullet after bullet. He reloaded and waited until he had to fire again.

Punk came back onto the streets and looked down briefly at the young man watching everything. The Dampyr shook his head and went to fight. The others followed and Jack and Alex went to assist the Hardy Boys while Edge and Chris went looking for Undertaker and Kane.

Punk killed vampires that stood in his way as he made his way further into the fray. He was grabbed from behind and dragged into an alleyway. He was slammed into a wall and was disorientated for a moment. He felt a hand wrap around his neck and was lifted into the air. The Dampyr struggled to breathe. He looked at the person holding him.

"Bastard child," a vampire purred, a French accent clinging to each word. She had brown eyes that held nothing. Her blond hair was loose about her face.

Punk clawed at her hand.

"Ow," she said. "Your Daddy should have put you out of your misery the day you were born."

The Dampyr felt a sharp pain in his side.

"Looks like I'll have to do it for him."

He screamed out in agony as he felt her hand go deeper into his body. He could feel blood pouring down from the wound. His side felt warm and wet.

A low growl filled the alleyway. The vampire looked and saw Randy coming her way. She dropped Punk and made her escape. His legs gave out and he slid to the ground. Randy came to his side and stared into his face. He was pale and his eyes going glossy. Randy pulled out a vial and poured it over the wound. It sizzled. Punk arched his back in pain.

"It's okay, baby," Randy whispered. "It'll be okay."

_Mike_, Punk thought.

Mike snapped his head up and looked around. He gripped his chest as he scanned the area.

_Mike._

The young man furrowed his eyebrows. Mike closed his eyes and laid his head on the steering wheel.

_Mike. _

"Punk." Mike flipped the car into reverse and swerved his car around. He geared the vehicle forward and floored it.

Drew and John kept themselves preoccupied with taking care of the zombies. Alicia sat far from them, her knees drawn up to her chest. She kept her ears covered wishing everything would stop.

Randy lifted Punk into his arms bridal style and rushed him to where Vickie and Yoshi were. Show saw the young man and started to fire again to give him the chance to make a break for it. Some reached out for them but were taken down by Edge and Chris. Alex came to their aid and laid down suppressive fire as he led Randy to the vehicles.

"What happened?" Vickie asked.

"He was attacked by a vampire," Randy explained. "She had her hand plunged into his side."

Vickie looked at the wound, but it was not healing. "Did you pour a potion over this?"

"Yeah."

Alex squeezed Randy's shoulder before going back to the fight.

"What the fuck?" she exclaimed. She poured another vial over the wound and it sizzled.

Randy watched chewing on his thumb.

_"He's not going to make it."_

_ "Surprised you people made it this far."_

_ "That is no ordinary wound."_

The sounds of an revved up engine roared toward them. Randy looked and saw a vehicle fast approaching. The car skidded to a stop just mere inches from the man. Randy was about to pound his fists onto the hood of the car but stopped when he saw who was behind the wheel.

Falend made her way to the roof of her building. She stepped out onto the graveled rooftop. She surveyed the area before going to the edge. The black woman looked down briefly and smiled. She looked up to the night sky. She closed her eyes.

Mike got out of the car and went to Punk. "What happened?"

"What are you doing here?" Randy asked.

"That doesn't matter. What happened?"

"He was attacked," Yoshi spoke up.

"His wound is not healing," Vickie added. "I poured three more vials on it. Nothing."

"Put pressure on it," Mike said as he went through the duffel bags.

"What do you think you're doing?" Randy growled.

"My job," Mike snapped. He armed himself with several vials, a metal stake, and a sword. He pushed his way passed Randy.

Randy ran his hands over his short hair and followed him. "Take care of him!"

Mike did what he knew and did best: kill. He cut off heads, threw vials, and plunged the stake into chests. He thought of death and destruction.

The men were feeling the drain on the bodies the longer they fought. They saw Mike heading his way to them. They smiled on the inside but never lost focus. They battled on.

A group of vamps broke free and Mike went after them.

"Don't be stupid, Mike!" Randy shouted as he tried to follow. From the corner of his eye he could see Alex being lifted up in the air. Randy growled and went to his aide.

Mike went further into the docks far from the fight. He took care of the five fleeing cowards. The young man cracked his neck and turned around. A vampire gripped his throat and hoisted him up.

"Such a bad boy," she purred. "You should have stayed with your friends."

Mike struggled in her grasp.

"Are you the Dampyr's friend?" she asked.

Mike stared at her and he snarled.

"That's not a pretty look for you." She threw him down.

Mike yelped in pain. He struggled to get back up, but she was on top of him, pinning his arms down with her knees.

"I'm going to rip your heart out," she said as she slowly plunged her nails into his chest.

He gritted his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut.

"So pretty."

Falend opened her eyes and the storm was gone. She stared up at the night. Soon, clouds covered the sky and lightening flashed through the dark cotton while rolls of thunder drummed.

Kane and Undertaker looked up at the brewing storm. Kane moved his gaze to his older brother and stared at the confusion on his face.

Alicia quietly cried.

_"Stop that," a voice growled._

She looked around quickly.

_"Why are you sitting there crying? Don't you care about your friends?"_

"I do," Alicia whispered as she wiped away her tears.

_"Then stand up. And fight!"_

Alicia stood, staring at the backs of her friends.

_"You know what you have to do."_

She shook her head.

_"You have to do it! Don't deny who you are. I know it will hurt you, but it's for them."_

The young black woman hugged herself.

_"Don't you want to see Kane again?"_

Her eyes grew wide and she quickly nodded.

_"Then do it."_

Alicia gulped and took a step forward. She kept walking until she stood in between Drew and John. She touched their shoulders and they looked to her, ceasing fire. She stepped forward and held her left hand out. She flicked out a ball of white light at the zombies. Their screams of agony pierced through the room causing Drew and John to cover their ears. When they looked up, the zombies were no more. The ones that they killed still lay. More came to the door.

Alicia turned to her boys. "Cover your ears. It's going to be a long night."

Bolts of lightening came down and twisted like tornadoes cutting through the vampires. Kane and Taker watched in awe and bewilderment.

Matt stood over his brother protecting him. He gripped his side, fighting back the pain. He could not fail Jeff. He had to protect him. Jeff stared up at the clouds watching the lightening flash and dance. His hair was around his head like a colored halo. His breathing shallow. He blinked once, twice, and did not blink again.

Chris and Edge stood their own, breathing hard and grinning as they fought. Chris's power was very useful. He went through the enemy, ripping their dead heart out and squeezing it until it burst. Edge and his trusty metal stakes been in this song and dance before.

Alex was injured. He had claw marks over his chest and back. Jack stood over him with is battle axe. Because of his strength and long reach, he was able cut down five vampires in one swing.

The vampire pulled her hand from Mike's chest screaming. Her hand was burnt.

A blond man came to her side and urged her to run. "Maryse, let's go." He pulled her to her feet and started down at him. He pushed the vampire and commanded, "Go!"

She sneered at him and ran.

The man leaned down and cocked his head. He knelt down and opened one of Mike's eyes. Ice blues did not great him but a black crescent moon with a small red star chasing it's tail. The man smiled.

"Mike!" Randy yelled.

The man looked up and his smile became broader. "So your name's Mike. Till we meet again, Cherub."

The man was gone when Randy skidded onto his knees. He lifted Mike into his arms.

"Don't do this to me, baby," Randy plead. "Don't you leave me."

_"He...d..ying."_

Randy's eyes were wide.

_"He...dying."_

Randy squeezed his eyes shut and rocked Mike. "Don't you leave me goddamnit! I don't...want to be alone."

_"He's dying," a voice cackled._


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything dealing with WWE or any song lyrics that is used as a muse. I also do not own the rights to any products or persons mentioned in the story as well.  
**

**Warning: There is harsh language and adult themes as well as Slash between some of the characters (mostly M/M).**

** Chapter Eleven**

Show came down from the roof in a hurry. He had seen what happened to Mike and he had to get to Randy and him as quickly as possible. He ran passed Edge and Chris. They stared after him and decided to follow. The trio went by Kane and Undertaker.

"Mike's in trouble," was all Show said.

The two followed close behind.

Jack knelt down and poured a healing potion over Alex's wounds. The liquid sizzled and the man hissed.

"God, it hurts," Alex breathed.

"It's supposed to. It means that it's working," Jack explained.

Alex chuckled. Jack looked over the wounds on Alex's back and nodded.

"Could you turn over for me?" Jack requested.

Alex did so and Jack more of the potion on his chest.

"Son of bitch!"

Jack smiled. He wiped his hand over Alex's now healed chest. The older man tilted his head up and nodded.

"Drink," Jack said.

Alex took the vial and down the rest. He laid there with his eyes close, enjoying Jack rubbing his chest.

Matt knelt over his brother tipping the healing potion into his mouth. Some of the blue liquid escaped from the right corner of Jeff's mouth but most went down the hatch. Jeff scrunched his face up and started to cough. Matt smiled and nodded. He held his brother tightly.

Vickie kept pressure on Punk's wound silently praying. Yoshi had examined the injury briefly and started to mix a new potion with what was in the portable alchemy set. He mashed herbs and chemicals together. He tested the concoctions on magic paper. When he did not see the desired effect, he would start anew.

Randy held onto Mike tears streaking his face.

_"He's dying."_

_ "There's nothing you can do."_

_ "He left you."_

_ "You weren't even worth it."_

The others came and looked on with pain and grief in their eyes. Edge fell to his knees not sure of what to do. Taker and Kane went to Randy's side and tried to check on Mike. He refused to let go of his lover.

"We need to see him," Taker quietly said.

"No," he hiccuped.

"Randy, please," Taker begged.

He just shook his head.

Taker looked to Kane, who looked to Show. Both men nodded and grabbed Randy.

"No! No! No!" he screamed over and over again as they dragged him away from Mike.

Taker knelt down to check for a pulse, a breathe, anything. His eyes went dark.

"Oh God!" came from Edge.

Chris went and held Edge in his arms. Tears fell from his eyes as he stared on, gripping tightly to his lover.

"Mike!" Randy yelled. "MIKE!"

Drew and John followed Alicia throughout the house checking to make sure that the house was clear. After not finding anything, both men sighed. Alicia stood at the sliding glass door to the backyard. She pressed her lips together and went out.

"Where is she going?" John asked.

Drew shrugged his shoulders.

They looked at each other and decided to follow her. They make their way to the cemetery and saw her stand still with her arms wide open. Both men could make out more zombies heading their way.

"Shit!" they exclaimed as they ran to her.

She clapped her hands together and the zombies combusted into flames. She turned her back on the walking torches and went back to the house.

"Wh-what do fucking we...do?" Drew asked.

John replied, "Go back to the house."

Cody stood at the window staring out into the night. He placed his forehead against the cold surface and sighed. His heart was in turmoil and his head was pounding.

"What are you doing?" Ted asked while he yawned.

"Something...is not right," Cody whispered.

Ted looked at him.

"Something is not right." Cody hugged himself and began to cry.

Ted rushed to his side and drew his young lover into his arms.

"Don't you feel it?"

Unlike Cody, Ted always shut off his extra sensory powers. Being a magic user is one thing but to have one of your powers on at all times was another. He hated to feel the world around him. He hated getting the vibes of wrong doing or something being off. It was enough to drive one insane. Yeah, there were good vibes, but the bad outweighed the good.

Ted sighed and said, "Turn it off."

Cody shook his head.

"Baby, you'll be up all night if you don't turn it off."

"Turn yours on and feel." Cody stared intently into his lover's eyes. "Turn it on and see."

"I don't want to," Ted said through clenched teeth.

"Why?"

Ted dropped his arms to his side. "I hate feeling it. I hate feeling the bad that is always around."

"There is some good," Cody whispered.

"I know that...but the bad outweighs the good at the moment."

"I need you."

Ted looked at Cody. He knew what his lover needed and he slowly nodded. He started to rub his temples and soon the rush of emotions came to burst through his system. Ted shuddered.

Cody pulled Ted to him and they placed their foreheads together. Faces flashed before their eyes. Happiness, sadness, hate, pain, anger, death ran through their hearts. Fucking, running, jumping, walking, killing, beating, touching overcame their bodies.

Ted and Cody stared into each other's eyes. "They're in trouble."

Falend sat with her legs dangling over the edge of the roof. She stared out into the now clear night as the storm raged behind her eyes. A blue-gray cat with large gold eyes came sauntering up and sat beside her. It moved its heart shaped head to look at the black woman before it too stared at into the night.

"You think it was wise for you to do what you did?" the cat asked.

"Why do you ask?" Falend retorted.

"Why do you think I asked?"

Falend chuckled.

"It was a stupid move."

"Stupid or not...it should have gotten her attention."

The cat stared at her for a few moments. "You really think that she'll fall for that?"

"I was hoping that she would be that stupid, but you know her better than I do, Chanarong."

The cat nodded. "That I do. If she doesn't suspect nothing, then it works out in our favor. If she does suspect something, then our job will be difficult."

Falend nodded. "Your thoughts?"

"Seeing that light show was just that I don't think she will think anything of it."

"Good."

…

Punk laid in his bed; his breathing slow and steady. Randy sat in a chair beside Punk's bed watching over him. His left knee bounced up and down while he chewed his thumb.

"You...speak...loud thoughts," Punk labored.

_"He's up."_

_ "Damn."_

_ "He fucking made it."_

Randy quickly stood up and went to his side.

"Where...am I?"

"In your room," Randy answered. "You've been out for three days."

Punk nodded and licked his lips. "Water."

Randy poured him a cup and placed a straw so it would be easier for the Dampyr to drink. Punk sipped slowly. He stared at Randy with his green eyes and chuckled lowly.

"What?" Randy questioned.

Punk pulled away from the straw. "You're being...nice to me."

"I have to be." Randy placed the cup down.

Punk stared at him. "What's wrong?"

Randy's shoulders began to jerk.

_"Be strong."_

_ "Don't show him any weakness."_

"Wh-where's Mike?"

Tears began to fall.

_"You fucker."_

"Randy."

"It's...uh...it's bad."

_"Bad? Is that all you can come up with?"_

Punk stared at him with tears forming in his eyes. "Randy?"

"He was hurt really...I couldn't get...to him."

"Please..."

"He's...touch and go. They're trying to get..."

"What?"

"They couldn't heal him. Like you. The wound to his heart..." Randy tried to calm himself. "For some reason..."

_"So weak."_

_ "He's going to die."_

_ "Deal with it."_

_ "He doesn't want to be with you."_

"Will...he be...okay?"

"I don't know." Randy stroked Punk's cheek. "I don't know."

Punk closed his eyes and tears fell from the corners.

"Do...you want to lay...beside him?"

Punk merely nodded.

Randy threw the sheets and blankets off revealing a boxer clad Punk. Bandages was wrapped around his torso. Randy lifted Punk bridal style and took him to Mike's room. Punk gripped tightly around Randy's neck. The door to Mike's room was cracked opened. Randy pushed it open further to step into a cold, dark room. Mike lay in the middle of his bed. He had no color and he looked to be barely breathing.

"Is he alive?" Punk whispered.

Randy nodded. "Barely. Do you still want to lay beside him?"

Punk nodded and Randy obliged. Punk nestled beside Mike and caressed his cheek.

"He's so cold," Punk noted.

"What about you?" Randy asked.

Punk nodded.

"We have to keep it this way. I'm sorry."

"It's okay."

"I'll get you some more blankets."

Punk was left alone with Mike. He sniffed. "Wake up. We need you...Randy and I. Hell everyone else does too...but mostly me and him. You're what holds us together." He kissed Mike's shoulder and cuddled closer to him.

Alicia sat in Taker's office in between Drew and John on the couch. The Deadman stared at her. He was trying to take in what Drew and John told him. Alicia was silent throughout most of it.

"Alicia," he said.

She looked up at Taker.

"You didn't know that you had this kind of power?"

"Sort of."

Taker nodded. "Are you afraid of it?"

"A little."

"Can you tell me your side?"

She scratched her arm. "I heard a voice in the back of my head telling me to grow up and that I know what I needed to do and if I cared and loved everyone, then I should do it. Then I did, but I didn't know exactly what would happen."

Drew and John looked at each other.

Taker nodded. "Okay. Thank you all. You're dismissed."

The three left.

Taker massaged his temples. Alicia was stronger than anyone thought and she was afraid. Hell, he was afraid. There was no telling what would happen. Will she die if she continued to use this new found gift? Will it cause the deaths of everyone around her? Will her powers diminish and she becomes a regular human or will they grow? The Deadman sighed and stood up. He went to the bookcase and went through the hidden door. One thing was for sure, he had to look into this situation as quickly as possible.

Cody and Ted came to visit Mike. They did it every day and today was no different. They talked lowly to Punk and was glad that he was doing better. They would look to Mike and give a bittersweet smile.

"How long will it take for them to come?" Cody asked.

Punk shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know."

"Who are they?" Ted questioned.

"Very powerful healers," Cody replied. "They're known as the Guaritori."

Ted nodded.

"It's Italian for healers," Punk added. "Funny."

"How's Randy?" Cody asked.

Punk shrugged his shoulders. "While Mike and I were out, he's been isolating himself...pacing around like a caged animal. Since I woke up, he's been doing better. Man, two days of being smothered. I'm starting to get annoyed but flattered."

"You really miss him picking on you?" Ted asked.

Punk nodded as Randy came in with a glass of Pepsi. Punk grinned and said, "Right now, I don't."

Randy stared at him with a raised eyebrow. The Dampyr looked up at him and winked. He slowly sipped his drink.

"How's the man that y'all rescued?" Cody wanted to know.

"Yeah, I was wondering about that as well," Ted added.

Punk looked to Randy.

"He's doing fine...well as fine as can be," Randy answered. "His name is Evan...Evan Bourne. Yoshi and Vickie have been taking turns watching over him at night. Nightmares. Jack and Alex have been with him during the day since they got to him first. He's been clinging to them for support and comfort."

"He looks like a puppy with his big brown eyes," Cody gave a soft giggle.

Randy and Ted nodded.

"Who's running the shop?" Punk wondered.

"Oh, Falend and this new guy we hired," Cody piped up. "He's really, really handsome."

Ted glared at him.

"What?" Cody stared at his lover innocently. "He's has cute dimples."

Ted rolled his eyes and added, "Yeah, a new guy in town. Looking for something part-time. Since Mike's...Cody wanting time to spend...you know what I mean."

Randy and Ted nodded.

"Oh, just letting you guys know that starting next week, store hours are changing," Cody said.

"Really?" Randy folded his arms over his chest. "That hasn't happened in a while."

Cody nodded. "Business is picking up again. Closed on Sundays. Monday through Thursday 10am to 9pm and Friday and Saturday 9am to 11pm."

"Extending your hours...nice," Punk said.

"I feel sad that I won't be able to sleep in any more, but we're making money," Ted replied.

"Maybe we can hire Evan on," Cody suggested. "Seeing that he's been through the worst imaginable living nightmare, he could learn a few things with us around to teach him."

Ted thought about it.

"That sounds like a good idea," Kane replied as he stepped in. "How is he?" He motioned toward Mike.

"The same," Punk replied.

Kane rubbed the back of his head and sighed.

"You look tired," Cody noted.

Kane nodded. "Dealing with a lot of things."

"Understandable," Ted sighed.

"The Guaritori will be here when they can. No word on an exact date. I just wanted to let you two know," Kane said.

Randy and Punk nodded.

"Cody, Teddy, if you want, you two are welcomed to have dinner with us tonight."

The couple nodded and Kane left.

…

Falend and the new guy ran the store until closing time. They made drinks, helped customers, rung up purchases, and chatted them up. The two went about cleaning the store and making it presentable for the next day. The new guy walked the aisles to make sure that the books were properly placed back, there was no trash laying about, and to place fallen books back up. Falend took care of the back and the kitchen area because she knew it better.

The new guy wiped down the tables, placed chairs back, picked up trash, and swept the floors.

"Hey, Boss Lady!" he called.

"Yo!" she shouted.

"Excited about the new hours next week?"

Falend stood in the doorway, wiping her hands on her apron. "I guess so. It's more hours that's for sure."

The guy nodded. "So what's going on?"

"More business."

"Between Cody and Ted."

"They're dating."

He stared at her. "I know that."

"Their friend's sick. He might not make it."

"What's wrong with him?" he asked.

"I don't know. They didn't tell me."

He nodded. "That sucks. Did you know him?"

"He took me out on a forced date. He's cool."

The new guy thought about it. "You like him?"

"The jury is out on that."

He laughed. "So, what's there to do in this town?"

"I don't know."

"What?"

"I don't know. I don't go out much. Just work and home."

The man rubbed the back of his hand. "Such a boring life."

"Whatever, Cena. Let's hurry so we can clock out."

"Yes, Boss Lady." He saluted and smiled.

Falend shook her head and went back to cleaning.

…

Evan chewed on his bottom lip as he stared out onto the night from the repaired sliding glass doors. He hugged himself trying to comfort himself, to shield himself. He placed his forehead against the cold glass. The young man shut his eyes as tears began to fall. He began to slam his head against the glass.

"You keep doing that, we're going to have to get a new door," Taker quietly said.

Evan jumped from fright and quickly wiped his eyes.

"It's okay to cry," the older man stated.

"Weak...it's a sign as weakness," the young man choked out.

"Some believe that. I don't. Sadness and fear is just a strong as happiness and love. It's okay for a man to cry every once in awhile."

Evan sniffed.

"Did you eat dinner?"

The young man nodded as he fought back the tears.

Taker nodded and placed his books down. He went to the fridge and saw the leftovers from that night's dinner had been wrapped up. He smiled. Jack and Chris had a habit of cooking for a larger family than the Hunters. Add Randy and Alex then a small army. He shook his head at the thought of including Punk in that equation.

Taker looked to the young man. He heated a plate that was big enough for three people: slices of meatloaf, green beans, mac and cheese, rolls, and cole slaw. He placed the plate at the table and slowly backed up. He could see that Evan looked at the plate in the reflection of the glass. Taker poured them both a drink and took a seat.

"I got you some Sweet Tea," Taker said as he cut into the meatloaf.

Evan nodded and joined him. He slowly drank his tea, eyes focused on the plate.

"I have a trick for you."

The young man looked at him. Taker held up his hands palm out. He brought them together, writhed the meaty appendages together, and stopped. He held his hands flat against each other and opened them to reveal an extra fork.

"Here you go," Taker said holding out the utensil.

Evan reluctantly took it.

"You haven't been eating, now have you?"

The young man was silent.

"I don't know what to say to you. This is actually Mike's department when it comes to comforting those who have seen the other world."

Evan looked at him, eyes glistening with tears.

"Mike is the man that's still unconscious."

Evan nodded. "Tell me about him."

"He is the glue that holds this family together. He is the one that can see pass the barriers that people have put up around their hearts. He is the one that can see behind the masks that people wear. He is the one that can wade through the lies and find the true person."

"He's that special?"

"To me he is. He is like my son. Hell, everyone here is like my children."

"What are you people?"

Taker smiled. "We are the Hunters. We take care of the problems that regular people refuse to see."

Evan gulped. "Vampires."

"Among other things...yes."

"Other things?"

Taker nodded. "Now is not the time to discuss the other things. Now is the time to eat."

Evan gave him a weak smile and took a bite of the mac and cheese.

Taker smiled broadly and the two ate in silence. One's mind was plagued with the horrors that he had seen and other was plagued with what was to come.

…

A coffin lid opened and a hand reached out to grab the sides. A large blond man sat up and cracked his neck. He slowly climbed out and growled lowly. He slowly made his way out of his bed room. A young woman awaited with a gold chalice. He took it and drank.

"Virgin blood," he breathed.

"The best for my Liege," the woman said.

The man nodded and walked down the hall.

"Christian is waiting in your office," she reported as she walked with him.

The man nodded again and dismissed her. He took the elevator to the floor beneath his. The room had statues of woman in the throws of passion and torture, a red carpet that led to a desk, several couches and chairs, and paintings of the night along the walls. He took a seat behind his desk and looked to the blond man before him.

"Christian," the man greeted.

"Gangrel," the blond replied.

"Take a seat."

Christian nodded and did so.

"What brings you here, my brother?"

"I think I found him. I think I've found the one."

Gangrel leaned forward as his blue eyes glinted with interest and excitement. "Are you sure?"

Christian nodded. "I saw a sign."

"Tell me, my brother."

"His eyes were of a black crescent moon with a red star chasing the moon's tail."

"Are you sure?"

Christian nodded.

"That is a sign." Gangrel smiled sinisterly as the information settled in his mind. "For one hundred years, I have been looking for him. And since you have been with me, you have been searching for twelve years."

"I wish our other brother here to hear this news."

Gangrel shot his blue eyes to Christian's face. "Yes...he was a non-believer though."

"He just lost the faith."

The vampire thought a moment and agreed, "That he did...that he did."

"You can't fault him for that, my brother."

"No, I cannot. After many failed missions and searches to find the chosen one can cause one to lose the faith." Gangrel looked off into space.

"I want him here with us."

Gangrel moved his eyes to Christian's face.

"I want my brother here with us."

"Our brother."

Christian smiled broadly.

"Find Edge and bring him here so he may share in the glory...the coming of our Lord. Take the New Brood with you to acquire the host that will bring our Lord to us. Show yourselves: Serena, Luke, Joey."

The three walked out from another room.

"You will go with our brother here to acquire the chosen one," Gangrel stated.

They nodded and smiled.

"Wait for me downstairs," Christian ordered.

They nodded and left.

"Do you know where Edge is located?" Gangrel asked.

"Lucky for me, in the same city as the chosen one."

"Good, good."

"Here." Christian pulled out a folded piece of paper and handed it to Gangrel.

He stared at him and back to the paper. He slowly unfolded it and stared at the hand sketch of Mike while he was unconscious.

"He is beautiful," Gangrel whispered.

"He's name is Mike," Christian stated.

Gangrel traced the outlines of Mike's face. "Mike...Michael...Quis ut Deus?"

"'Who is like God?'"

Gangrel nodded.

Christian watched him for a moment. He nodded and stood. "I shall take my leave."

Gangrel sat alone staring at Mike's picture.

"So, you've found da one?" a woman asked. Her Creole accent think and coated each word.

"Yes...Christian thinks he has found the one."

"Do you believe 'im?" She walked out of the shadows from the corner of his office.

"I believe my brother. He has the same convictions and strong faith in our beliefs."

The woman was black and had her hair in dreads. Her brown eyes held a storm that raged but lesser than Falend's. She stood behind him staring over his shoulder. "So beautiful."

"He is." Gangrel turned to look at her. "What do you have for me?"

"Da preparations are almost complete. Da Leylines are almost ready to create da gate."

"Good...keep on schedule."

"We might have a problem though."

He arched an eyebrow in a questioning look.

"Looks like one of my children has grown stronger."

The vampire looked her over. "I wasn't aware that you had any children."

"I have many. Some I birthed. Others...I created with the help of me gods."

"Do you think your child will try to stop us?"

"He will try...but fail." She smiled wickedly.

He went back to the picture. "You sure?"

"Even if he has grown stronger, I'm still his creator. I am stronger dan 'im."

"Good, I have waited for a hundred years for this. I don't want anything to stop us."

"No one will stop us." She leaned forward and kissed his cheek before leaving.

Gangrel stared at the picture, tracing the lines of Mike's face, his eyes, his nose, his mouth. "Who is like God shall bring our Lord to us."

* * *

**A/N: I hope that y'all enjoyed the first of The Hunter Series. ****Will Mike wake up? Who is that mysterious woman? What will happen to Evan Bourne? How will Randy and Punk cope? ** Stay tuned for part two, The Brewing Storm.


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